Neji Hyuuga: Matchmaker
by emilyjm
Summary: Slightly AU. SasuHina, NarSak, LeeTen, ShikaIno. The Hyuugas want to ship off Hinata to another village through marriage, and it's up to Neji to see that they don't.
1. Chapter 1: The Problem

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**Author Notes:** Some people requested that I continue 'Observation'. This could be seen as a sequel of sorts. I don't write a lot of fanfiction, and did this to get the idea out of my head. If you read it and like it, then I'm glad. If you read it and hate it, then I'm sorry to have wasted your time.

This story contains Sasuke/Hinata, Naruto/Sakura, Shikamaru/Ino and Rock Lee/Tenten pairings. I know that some of these pairings are very far-fetched, but for some reason, they appeal to me. Since I write for my own amusement, I will use whatever pairings I wish. If you have a serious problem with any of these pairings, please do not read this fic. I don't want you to waste your time.

This story is slightly AU. I am not very familiar with Naruto as of yet, and so some parts of this story may be inaccurate. I apologize for this, but I don't think I will change it for continuity's sake.

Thank you for reading.

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Neji Hyuuga: Matchmaker

Chapter 1: The Problem

Hyuuga Neji prided himself on seeing things other people never noticed. He could tell a lot about people by the way the acted, how they moved, where their eyes went when talking to people. With his extraordinary vision, and his extreme intelligence, there wasn't much that he didn't miss.

When he was younger, he used his talents with the sole purpose of becoming the best ninja in the Hyuuga household. He wanted to prove that a ninja from the Branch house could outdo one from the Main House. He proved that quite effectively when he beat Hinata in the preliminaries when they were young. Looking back on his actions now, he regretted them. Anger had made him reckless and unforgiving, and he saw in Hinata everything that he hated in his life. Now, however, time and understanding had enabled him to let go of his hatred for Hinata. It helped that Hinata was determined that when she became Head of the Main House, she would change things. He was hesitant to believe she could do it, but she had become stronger over the years. Her father had accepted her back home, and soon after, subtle changes occurred in the Hyuuga house. Tension between Branch and Main members, though still present, eased somewhat under Hinata's kindness. Her sister, Hanabi, once as single minded as he had been in her determination to prove herself, had softened - somewhat. Though keeping up an appearance of coldness towards her sister in public, Neji knew that Hanabi was fond of Hinata. They both were.

So when Hiashi announced at breakfast one morning that there would be a formal celebration for Hinata's eighteenth birthday, Neji caught his youngest cousin's eyes across the table, and saw reflected in them the concern in his own. Birthdays were never 'formally celebrated' in the Hyuuga household. Usually, birthdays were acknowledged only by a few simple gifts, given to the person by immediate family, and a slightly more elaborate dinner. That was all. A formal celebration with invitations sent out to neighbouring villages was unheard of.

After breakfast, Neji headed outside. He saw Hanabi sitting on a stone bench in the shade, watching her older sister tend to the herbs on the other side of the garden. Neji sat beside her, and they remained silent for a few minutes.

"The council wants to marry Hinata off," Hanabi spoke suddenly. Neji remained still, watching his cousin take her herbs into the kitchen, where she would make her healing poultices. He waited until she was in the house before replying.

"How do you know this?" he asked.

"I eavesdropped on the council meeting," Hanabi said calmly. Neji shot her a look, and she grinned at him.

"Come on, Neji, you would've done it too if you hadn't been on that mission," she said cheekily. He refrained from replying to that, and looked back at the garden.

"The council doesn't want Hinata to be heir; they think she's too soft. They prefer you. Do you think this is their way of getting rid of her?" he asked. Hanabi snorted derisively.

"Of course. The invitations have been sent out to neighbouring villages already. If they marry Hinata off to someone outside of Konoha, it will take away any influence she has."

"She's only eighteen; a marriage won't take place until she's a least twenty. That's two years in which we can work." Neji said reasonably.

"Don't be stupid, Neji," Hanabi said scornfully, ignoring his glare, "if someone makes an offer for Hinata - and someone will, she's the firstborn daughter of the Hyuuga clan - then the council, if they approve, will force her to leave Konoha to stay with her betrothed's family."

"Can't your father do something?" he asked.

"The most Father can do is throw his support behind one of the suitors. You know that the council has been given more power the past few years in order to appease the Branch members."

"It isn't the Branch members that want to ship Hinata off to some rich bastard in a far away village." Neji retorted heatedly to the subtle barb. Hanabi just grinned at being able to get under his skin.

"Look, here's what I figure. Hinata _should_ get married. If she marries the right guy, she'll be able to be a medic nin, like she wants, and when I'm head, I'll make her my right hand man. Or woman, I suppose. You'll be my left hand man, and together, we'll have enough power to hold more sway over the council. We can still change the Hyuuga for the better. I won't let Hinata down," she said softly.

"That's all very well and good, but who would she marry? He would have to be a man from Konoha and one from a prestigious clan..." Neji's voice trailed off as he thought suddenly of a possible candidate.

"You have someone already in mind, don't you cousin?" Hanabi asked, looking at him excitedly, "Who is it?"

"It would be difficult…"

"Well, the hardest part will be to convince him to offer himself to marry Hinata, I would imagine," Hanabi said, studying her cousin. He shook his head.

"No, the hardest part will be to convince the council and your father of his honour and loyalty. Convincing him to marry Hinata will be relatively easy, I believe."

Hanabi stared at him. Who could her cousin possible have in mind? And what did he mean, convince the council of the suitor's loyalty? She ran through a list of possible candidates. There were her sister's team mates, but she knew there was no reason to question their loyalty. In fact, there weren't really any ninja whose loyalty she would question except...

"You've got to be kidding. And you think the hardest part is to convince the council? He hates girls. I think he might even be gay. Hey Neji, where are you going?" Hanabi called after her cousin as he stood up. He didn't reply, and Hanabi sighed, knowing her cousin well enough to recognize that he was planning something in detail.

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	2. Chapter 2: Strategy

Thanks for all the reviews. Here's Chapter 2.

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Chapter 2: Strategy

Neji's first stop was his uncle's office. He needed to try and figure out what the Hyuuga head thought of this. After an hour of seemingly mundane, polite conversation about the future of the Hyuuga clan, Neji left his uncle armed with the knowledge that the Hyuuga head would prefer to have his eldest daughter as Head, but was willing to let her go to someone in Konoha in order to keep her close.

He went to his room next. He only had the afternoon in which to figure out the situation, as he was back on duty tomorrow. He sat in a meditative pose on the floor, making a sort of battle plan. As it stood now, there were those on the council who were adamant against Hinata, and there were those partial to her, and those who were split between. If Hiashi showed his preference for a specific suitor, i.e. one from Konoha, then those sitting on the fence and those who liked Hinata would support the Head's decision. Those who wanted to get rid of the heiress would be outvoted, and Hinata would remain in the village, and be given a prominent position on the future council.

Ideally, Neji would like Hinata to be able to marry someone she liked, possibly Naruto. But there was no way the Kyubi vessel would be accepted as a candidate by the council. However, Hinata had a kind heart, and was willing to like just about everybody. At the very least, with some encouragement and time, she may come to view her possible betrothed as her friend. Her possible betrothed, Neji felt sure, would be relatively easy to convince. Uchiha Sasuke treated everyone with the same coldness and disdain, but his eyes followed his cousin constantly, and his ever present scowl became even more pronounced every time Naruto shouted a warm "Hinata-chan!" at his cousin. Most people wouldn't notice, but then, Hyuuga Neji wasn't most people, and he was fairly convinced that the Uchiha heir held some sort of regard for his cousin. All that was needed was to get the Uchiha heir invited to the party, and to offer himself as a possible candidate for Hinata's husband. Neither challenge would be difficult to overcome.

No, bringing the two together wouldn't be difficult. The problems arose with the Uchiha's past. He had betrayed Konoha by joining Orochimaru, no matter the reasons, and even after Sasuke had returned with the sannin's head, some people still regarded him as a traitor. He still had a slew of fangirls chasing after him though, the two most prominent being Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura.

These two girls were the only ones that would present obstacles, as far as he could tell. Hinata considered both of the girls her friends, and would never accept the Uchiha if it meant hurting them. No, he would have to divert Yamanaka's and Haruno's affections. Haruno was easy enough, she had been getting closer to Naruto over the years, and Uzumaki had always carried a torch for the pink haired ninja. The obvious and easiest course of action would be to divert Sakura's affections to Naruto. Yamanaka was harder. He had never given her a lot of thought, nor had he crossed paths with her very often, so presently, any information he had regarding her wasn't nearly complete enough to develop a strategy for dealing with her. He would have to do some reconnaissance on Yamanaka. He set her aside for now, and he turned his thoughts on the best way to prove Uchiha's loyalty.

Actually, in marrying Hinata, Sasuke _would _prove his loyalty to Konoha. If he married they Hyuuga heiress, it would signify his intentions to remain in Konoha to raise his family. Neji also knew that the Hokage had accepted Sasuke back as a ninja of Konoha, even if she was publicly punishing him by giving him lower ranked missions. If Hiashi and the Hokage supported Sasuke, then the council would likely accept him. And there was always the added prestige of having a Hyuuga become the new matriarch of the powerful Uchiha clan.

Uchiha Sasuke was the best candidate, as far as Neji could reason, and he stood up to begin his mission - arranging a marriage between the survivor and his cousin.

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	3. Chapter 3: The Possible Betrothed

Chapter 3: The Possible Betrothed

Sasuke Uchiha entered his home, shutting the door behind him with a slam. He scowled in frustration, dropping his bag on the floor and then headed into the kitchen. Why did the Hokage insist on assigning him such _useless_ missions? Finding a stray cat had been a routine mission for him when he was a genin, but by now he should have graduated to better things.

Normally, he wasn't given such mundane missions. He was the last Uchiha after all, and finding strays would be a waste of his talents. His missions had been increasing in danger recently, and he had hoped that meant he would soon be able to try for the rank of jounin soon. He supposed his comment to Tsunade that "it was about time she got off her drunken ass and gave him something useful to do" had resulted in the less than stellar mission of today.

How long was this going to go on? How long was he going to be punished for his past misdemeanors? He gritted his teeth, wishing that there was some way to fast-forward his life to a time when he wouldn't be stuck doing these asinine missions.

He had just heated up some soup when a knock sounded on his door. He left his bowl on the counter and went to open it. His old sensei, Kakashi, was on the step. He appeared to be grinning, though it was hard to tell with that damn mask on.

"What?" Sasuke asked rudely. Kakashi produced a scroll in reply. Sasuke scowled and took it, glancing briefly at the seal. He paused and looked again closely. The scroll didn't have the Hokage's seal, but rather one he'd never seen before. He looked at Kakashi.

"Going to invite me in, or shall we discuss top secret information on your front step?" his former sensei asked. Sasuke stepped away from the door and began to unroll the scroll. Kakashi entered and waited for him to read it. Sasuke read it twice, then looked up at him.

"What is this?" he asked coldly. Kakashi sighed.

"It's a sad day when Konoha's former Number One Rookie forgets how to read," he said. Sasuke glared at him.

"Why the hell is the Hyuuga household sending me a formal invitation to a party?" he clarified.

"Would you like me to be brief?"

"Yes."

"Right then. The Hyuugas appear to want to marry Hinata-sama off, so they've sent out invitations to various wealthy and prestigious families in the surrounding villages to invite them to a formal birthday party for Hinata. It's an excuse for said guests to check out the wares before making an offer," Kakashi explained indifferently.

Sasuke became very still as he stared at the invitation in his hand.

"They want to marry Hinata-sama off?" he asked quietly, his bangs obscuring his face.

"It would appear that way. Apparently, there aren't many people considered worthy of the heir. You are the only ninja in Konoha to receive an invitation," Kakashi said, watching his former student carefully. Sasuke turned and walked into his kitchen where he threw the invitation down on the table.

"What makes you think I'd be interested?" he asked, his face cold and indifferent.

"Nothing, really, we all know how much you hate girls. However, the Hokage did say to inform you that if you accept and make an appearance at the party, your missions will most certainly improve. And if you go so far as to make an offer for the heiress, well, you may just make it to jounin rank all the quicker, rather than waiting for the end of the year. Tsunade-sama is reluctant to let a medic-nin of Hinata's quality be shipped off to some remote village."

Sasuke was silent for a few moments.

"All right," he said finally, "I'll do it." Kakashi blinked in surprise, than narrowed his eyes at his former student. That had been a surprisingly quick decision on Sasuke's part. He smirked underneath his mask. Perhaps the Uchiha didn't hate girls after all.

"Ok then. If you need any advice about how the woo the heir…" he trailed off and winked at Sasuke, who glared at him.

"Go away, Kakashi," he growled dangerously. Kakashi made a speedy retreat when he saw the activated Sharingan, but not before witnessing a sight he thought he'd never see. Just before he disappeared in a puff of smoke, and slight blush had stolen its way across the avenger's cheeks.

Sasuke picked up his soup bowl and began eating, staring at the invitation lying on his table. Marriage? Wasn't she too young for that? They must be planning for a long engagement, and the marriage would likely take place when she turned twenty. He wondered what it would be like to be married to Hyuuga Hinata. Quiet, for sure, and…nice. He felt a familiar fluttery feeling in his chest when he thought about it, and set his now empty dish in the sink.

He had successfully pushed thoughts of the heiress aside for four years, ever since he had joined Orochimaru. When he returned to Konoha, he had thought he had rid himself of all feelings, left only with numbness. Naruto and Sakura had been very worried about him the first few days, not knowing how to reach him. He didn't know himself. He felt like he had outgrown everyone and everything in Konoha, and was seriously considering leaving for good. He remembered being in the hospital, still recovering from his wounds after the battle between Orochimaru, Naruto, and himself. Together, he and his old teammate had taken the legendary sannin down, with Sasuke delivering the final blow himself. Naruto had healed quickly, thanks the Kyubi, but Sasuke had no demon inside him, and had to be carried back to the village and hospitalized. On his third day of confinement, Hinata had come in to treat him. Sakura had been called away to work on a more difficult case, and the shy heiress had come to take her place.

She hadn't changed much. Her hair was a little longer, the strands brushed over his face as she bent over him to check his wounds. Her voice was still soft, and she still stuttered, but she had a little more confidence now, seen in the way she skillfully treated him. Her eyes were still large and white, and when she looked into his, the warm, shaky feeling he had around her when he was twelve came back.

He had avoided her gaze for the rest of his checkup, determined to ignore her and that feeling, but the damage had been done. The numbness had disappeared, and as the days went by, he found it easier to slip back into the old routine. There were adjustments to be made, of course. Things couldn't stay exactly the same. However, Naruto was still an idiot, Ino and Sakura still chased after him incessantly, and he found himself grateful for the familiarity of it. He slowly began to reestablish himself in the village. He also found himself watching Hinata whenever she happened to be near by, and considering that she still seemed to have a crush on Naruto, he had plenty of opportunities to study her. He refused to admit his feelings, and it was only after a rather embarrassing dream about her that had him avoiding her for two days did he finally admit that maybe he liked the Hyuuga girl.

He had hoped admitting it would make things easier, but they just got worse. The fluttery feeling became deeper and much more intense, and he started trying to find ways to talk to her. Whenever he did have the chance, though, he suddenly couldn't speak, and ended up scowling at her instead. He had faced and defeated an evil sannin that wanted to possess him, had faced down hordes of fangirls, enemy ninja, and other nasty things, but when it came to talking to the girl he liked, he was completely lost.

And now her family wanted to marry her off. If he played his cards right, he might be chosen as her betrothed, and then they would have to do stuff together, and then they would have to speak, at the very least to talk about the wedding, or something.

She would be his wife one day.

This thought made him…pleased, and he smiled.

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Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4: Diversionary Tactics

Chapter 4: Diversionary Tactics

Neji Hyuuga sighed wearily. He had managed to get an invitation sent out to the Uchiha heir, that had been easy. He had also spoken with the Hokage, and in a conversation that seemed to be idle chit chat managed to convey to her what he was trying to do, and gained her support. That too had been relatively easy. The hard part was now currently bandaging his arm.

"Honestly, Neji, did you have to _throw_ yourself in front of the shuriken?" Haruno Sakura asked. He didn't answer, knowing she didn't really expect one.

"Between you and Naruto, I'm going to have to put in a request for a leave of absence just to get my chakra levels back up," she muttered.

Now was his opportunity.

"Uzumaki is a good ninja, just reckless," he said, listening closely to her reply. It was time to stake out the target. Sakura sighed.

"I know," she said softly. Neji watched her closely, and noted the softened expression in her eyes and voice. That could be a good thing. Maybe she had already shifted her affections –

"He's just so annoying!" she growled, and Neji winced as she tightened the bandage too much.

And then again, maybe not.

"He can be amusing," he mused. Sakura readjusted the bandage while looking at Neji skeptically. Did he just compliment Naruto? Neji noticed her suspicious glance and changed tactics. Building Naruto up wasn't getting anywhere, better try talking him down.

"Though he is still an idiot," he said, putting all the cold disdain he could into his voice.

"He is a little dense, I mean, he doesn't even realize that Hinata has a crush on him," Sakura said. Neji sighed.

"Perhaps because the fool is blinded by you. Although, I don't blame you for not returning his affections. What my cousin sees in him is beyond me, he's so…ridiculous."

"Hey, now wait a minute," Sakura said, her green eyes flashing. _Finally_, Neji thought as he took in her sudden anger.

"Naruto is a GREAT guy, doing whatever he can to help the people he cares about. Yeah, he can be obnoxious, but he is loyal, strong, kind, honourable, and honest. Any girl would be lucky to have him," she finished defiantly.

"If this is so, then why don't you accept his attentions?" Neji asked. Sakura's mouth fell open in surprise. She snapped it shut and turned away from him to hide the blush spreading across her cheeks.

"Because…because I'm in love with Sasuke, that's why. It wouldn't be fair to Naruto, dating him when my heart belonged to someone else," she said, but Neji saw that she avoided his gaze, and her voice was not quite as strong as before.

"Are you sure?" he asked softly and left before she could question him.

He left the hospital, satisfied with the way the encounter had gone. He didn't think that he had managed to shift Sakura's affections, it was too early for that, but at least he had given her something to think about. That was a start. As for the other fangirl, Ino, Neji hadn't come up with anything yet. He could try to divert her affections to himself, if it came to that, but he'd really rather not.

Speaking of Ino, there she was, walking down the street with one of her teammates, the fat one, speaking a mile a minute. He immediately went into surveillance mode, trailing behind them close enough to hear the conversation, or at least Ino's half. It wasn't hard, as she was quite loud.

"…gone to the Sand village _again_. I swear, he asks for those missions. It's all because of that Temari chick. Ohhhh, I hate her, she _always_ flirts with him, as if he's the greatest ninja in the world. Ha, as if, Sasuke-kun is soooooooooooooo much better looking, I mean, Shika-kun's got nothing on him. You know, we should do something about this," she declared.

"Do something about what?" Chouji asked confused.

"About Shika and Temari, of course. If we're not careful, she's going to lure him away from us for good. He'll join the Sand village, and then where will team ShikaInoCho be? He's your best friend too, Chouji, I know you'd miss him."

"Well, yeah, but if she makes him happy-"

"How can that harpy make him happy?" she screeched.

Neji stopped following them at this point, turning over the newly acquired information in his head. So Shikamaru and Temari, huh? That didn't bode well. Of course, he had noticed the Sand nin's interest in his fellow ninja, but Shikamaru always seemed more bored than anything, and had never really responded. Neji thought that the affection had been entirely one sided. But then, Shikamaru _did_ ask for his latest mission to take him into Sand country. That wasn't good. Shikamaru was the best strategist Konoha had, and Neji did not like the idea of loosing him to another village because of a girl. No, he had to stop this.

It hit him as he watched the Yamanaka girl come back his way. He could fix two problems at once with this. Pair up Ino with Shikamaru. How did he not notice this before? They could work. Ino was already upset with Temari, perhaps she was jealous? Come to think of it, Shikamaru always seemed to hate Sasuke. Neji thought that it was because of the Uchiha's betrayal, but Shikamaru hadn't liked the Uchiha even before Sasuke left Konoha. It wasn't like he could be jealous of the other ninja's abilities or popularity; Shikamaru would find such things too 'troublesome'. He always seemed most annoyed when Ino threw herself at the Uchiha.

Neji felt like smacking himself in the forehead. He prided himself on noticing things that others didn't, and yet, this escaped him completely. Maybe it was because the two ninja, though talented in their own right, weren't very distinguishable. Sure, Shikamaru was a genius, but he was really lazy, and kept to himself mostly. Ino was talented, but she didn't have the strength of Sakura, nor the association with two of the most well known ninja in Konoha. Perhaps that's why he had overlooked this.

That, or he could just be getting sloppy. He decided he better step up his training, just in case.

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	5. Chapter 5: My EYES!

Chapter 5: My EYES! 

Neji Hyuuga was whipping through the Konoha forest at a wonderfully reckless pace. He had his Byakugan activated, and therefore felt the there was no need for caution. He was schedule to meet Tenten and Rock Lee for training. He had purposefully scheduled training time with his old genin team, ever since realizing how blind he had been with regards to Shikamaru and Ino. An afternoon's training with the taijutsu specialist and the weapons master would be sufficient punishment, he thought.

He sent his sight up ahead, scanning the area. He had told his teammates to meet in Sector 3 after lunch, and he was, of course, right on time. Sometimes, Tenten and Lee were early, and if that was the case, then he wanted to sneak up on them unawares. He spotted movement ahead and to the right, underneath a tree, and he focused on it…

…only to come crashing down hard, his eyes shut tight with his hands over them, unable to believe what he had seen, and feeling slightly nauseous. His thoughts, for once, were largely incoherent, but they seemed to run along the lines of _ewwwwwwwwww_.

Slowly and shakily he stood up, brushing dirt from his clothes with the air of a man desperately searching for some sane thing to do. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the meaning of what he had inadvertently witnessed, when he heard and exuberant voice from behind.

"NEJII! How wonderful to see you here on this glorious day! Are you here for training?" his old sensei, Maito Gai, hollered from two feet behind him. Neji turned to see the Green Beast of Konoha in one of his nice guy poses, complete with gleaming white teeth that pinged at him. Neji blinked, unable to speak just yet.

"Lee informed me that you and Tenten were going to meet him for some extra training, and I thought I'd join you. It'll be just like the old days! It is good to remember our glorious youthful past!" Gai exclaimed, wiping a tear from his eye and looking properly nostalgic.

This speech gave Neji enough time to gather his wits. He blinked as he took in what his old sensei had just said. That, coupled with what he had just seen, inspired something akin to panic in Neji.

"Gai-sensei, I am glad that I ran into you. You see, something has come up that I need your help with," he said calmly, frantically trying to think of something that would enable him to get Gai away from the forest as quickly as possible. They absolutely _must not_ meet with Tenten and Lee at the moment, bad things would happen if they did.

Gai dropped the nostalgic face and put on his serious face.

"Yes, Neji, what is it?" he asked.

Outwardly, Neji was calm. Inwardly, he was panicking. What on earth could he say to get Gai-sensei away? His mind lit on something, and he sighed mentally.

"I have challenged my rival Uchiha Sasuke to a two man team challenge. He has chosen his former sensei, Kakashi, to be his partner, and I thought it fitting to ask you to be mine," Neji said quickly. Gai was quiet for a moment, and Neji held his breath.

"OF COURSE! I must defeat my eternal rival, KAKASHI! What must we do?" he asked, and Neji relaxed before assuming a very serious face, which really wasn't all that different from his regular one.

"Hide and Seek. Sasuke and Kakashi have hidden themselves, and we must locate them. I believe they are in Sector 11. We must leave immediately."

Gai-sensei agreed using a great deal of words. Neji just tuned him out, silently cursing his teammates. Now he was stuck with Gai for an afternoon, and what was he going to do when Gai-sensei didn't find Sasuke and Kakashi at Sector 11? He pushed those thoughts aside. He would just deal with that when it was necessary, and not before.

Tenten and Lee owed him big time for this.

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Yamanaka Ino looked up from the magazine she was reading as the bell on the door jingled cheerfully. She was surprised to see Maito Gai bounding inside, followed by a reluctant Hyuuga Neji.

"Hello!" she greeted, putting the thousand watt smile on her face, "Welcome to Yamanaka's flower shop. What can I do for you?"

Gai answered by putting his finger to his lips, signaling silence. Ino stared at him, baffled, before turning to Neji for an explanation. He looked…exhausted.

"Don't ask," he muttered, before hurrying after Gai, who had just dived into a large plant display with a triumphant "AHA!"

Ino was momentarily distracted from their antics as the shop door jingled again, signaling another customer. This time, she really hoped it was an actual customer. Her hopes fled when she saw Shikamaru.

"Hey, Shika, what are you doing here?" she asked, "Come to keep me company?"

"Tch. The whole world doesn't revolve around you, Ino," he drawled, walking over to a display. Ino narrowed her eyes at him, but was unable to reply as Gai shouted "BLAST! He isn't here! Where could he be?" Both she and Shikamaru turned to watch Gai as he struck a thoughtful pose, one hand on his hip, the other on his chin. Shikamaru caught Ino's eye and raised his eyebrow. She just shrugged at him and turned back to her magazine. Shikamaru looked back at Gai, and noticed Hyuuga Neji standing behind him, his white eyes focused on...Ino. Shikamaru blinked, and looked between the two. Ino was oblivious to the gaze, idly flipping the pages of her magazine. He looked back at Neji, only to see that the Hyuuga was now looking at _him._ Shikamaru shifted uncomfortably under that white gaze, and he walked over to Ino.

"Hey, what's up with these two?" he asked quietly. She looked up at him, and he weathered his usual shock at how blue her eyes were. He'd known her all his life and he still wasn't used to the colour. He probably should be, though, because they were a bright blue, like the sky…

"…just came in here and started sneaking around. I don't know what their problem is," she said. Shikamaru tuned in suddenly, and blinked. This had been happening a lot lately. Ino would start talking, and he'd get distracted by something. Usually it was the sky, or the clouds, or her eyes, or her hair, her mouth…he blinked again to push that thought out of his head.

"Troublesome," he muttered, but whether he meant the two ninja currently in the store, or the fact that he was beginning to find Ino distracting, he wasn't sure.

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	6. Chapter 6: The Unexpected Party

Chapter 6: The Unexpected Party 

Inuzuka Kiba was many things. Loud, brash, some said obnoxious (he usually flipped off those people), hotheaded, the list went on. He was also loyal to the people he cared about, and kind, in his own gruff way. So when Hyuuga Hanabi cornered him one day, he didn't throw her out of his way, like he usually did to obnoxious genin. Out of respect for his former team mate he merely demanded (rudely) what she wanted. His hostile attitude disappeared when she told him.

"A birthday party for Hinata?" he asked skeptically, "She's never had one before."

"But she's going to turn eighteen, Inuzuka-san, don't you think she should celebrate that?"

"Well, yeah, but this is Hinata. She hates being the center of attention, and having a party for her will put her in the center of attention."

"Tch, she needs to get over that. Besides, it'll be good for her to see how many people care about her," Hanabi stubbornly insisted. Kiba eyed her suspiciously.

"What do you care? Don't you hate her or something?" he asked. Hanabi's eyes narrowed, and Kiba, suddenly nervous, was reminded strongly of Neji.

"Have you ever tried hating Hinata, Inuzuka-san? It isn't easily done," she replied coldly, before continuing in her regular bossy tone, "I do not hate my sister. I think a party is a good idea, but the only way she'll go for it is if you insist that she have one. Tell her you've worked everything out, it's on Saturday at your old sensei's apartment, and tell her _she_ has to invite the people she wants to come."

"Why me? Why don't you tell her?"

"Because I don't know Kurenai, and you're going to have to convince her to let you have the party there. Besides, I'm only thirteen. I shouldn't have to organize a party for a bunch of eighteen year olds," Hanabi explained, rolling her eyes. Kiba wondered briefly if he was as bratty as this kid when he was young.

"You're also the only one hard headed enough to get her to agree."

He decided that he couldn't possibly have been as bratty as this kid when he was young.

"Wait, I have to get Kurenai-sensei to agree to let a bunch of eighteen year olds trash her apartment?"

"Yup. No worries, Inuzuka-san, I have faith in you. See you!" And with that, the youngest Hyuuga heir darted off, leaving Kiba baffled in the street.

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Hinata walked slowly towards Konoha. She had just finished training with her old genin team, and was puzzling over _why_ Kiba insisted she have a birthday party. She'd never had one before, and would prefer not to, but he had been adamant. She had known Kiba long enough now to realize that the easiest way to deal with him when he got an idea in his head was to just go along with him. So now she was scheduled to have a birthday party Saturday evening at Kurenai-sensei's home. Shino and Kiba both promised to be there, and so had Kurenai-sensei, so that was at least three people. Kiba had told her to invite whomever else she wanted. She decided that she would invite all the old Rookie Nine. Her party could be like a reunion of sorts, and this (hopefully) would take some of the spotlight off of her.

Speaking of the Rookie Nine, three of them were currently walking towards her. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke seemed to be heading to the same training grounds that she had just left. She felt her heart flutter as they approached, and her face lit up when Naruto caught sight of her and yelled "Hey, Hinata-chan!"

She blushed and looked down as they approached her. More to avoid eye-contact with her long-time crush than anything else, she quickly shifted her eyes to Sakura and Sasuke. Sakura greeted her warmly, but Sasuke just glared at her. She gulped and looked down. She had no idea why, but the Uchiha survivor seemed to dislike her a great deal. He was always avoiding her gaze, and the few times she had tried to start a polite conversation, he had just scowled at her. She thought it best to just leave him alone.

"Hello. I-I'm glad I've r-run into you three," she said softly, glancing briefly at Naruto before looking back down at her hands. Naruto grinned and put his hands behind his head.

"What's up, Hinata-chan?" he asked. Hinata took a deep breath and forced herself to look at him. She was determined to do this right.

"I'm h-having a birthday party on Saturday n-night, and was wondering if you'd l-like to come?" she asked, pleased that her stutter wasn't so bad.

Naruto grinned.

"A birthday party? Of course, Hinata-chan, I'd love to come!" he said, and Hinata felt relief flow through her at his words. She turned to Sakura with a little more confidence.

"You too, Sakura-chan, I hope you can come?"

"Of course, Hinata, I wouldn't miss it."

Hinata became much more nervous as she turned to the last member of the group. She'd really rather not ask him, as she was sure he'd say no, and probably be really annoyed that she had even asked. Still, it would be rude to ignore him, so she forced herself to face the Uchiha. She looked up at him and gulped. Gods, did he have to be so _intimidating_? He was glaring at her again.

"S-S-Sasuke-san? W-w-w-will you c-c-come as well?" she asked, a little breathlessly. Did he have to stare at her so intently? More to fill up the growing silence than anything, she added, "P-please, it w-w-would m-mean a lot t-to m-me." She felt her face heat up once more as she looked back down at the ground.

"All right," he agreed abruptly, and Hinata's head snapped up in surprise. She wasn't the only one shocked either. Both Naruto and Sakura were staring at Sasuke as if he'd suddenly announced that he was going to don green spandex and join the Maito Gai fan club.

"WHAT?" both Sakura and Naruto yelled.

"You actually agreed? But Sasuke-bastard, you _never_ do anything fun," Naruto declared. Sakura turned on him and smacked him.

"Don't be mean, Naruto. Sasuke does lots of fun things, just not parties," she yelled. Naruto covered his head, but even fear of Sakura's impressive strength didn't stop him from muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "stick-up-his-ass" to which Sakura replied with a strangle yell and started chasing him towards the training area. Hinata watched until all she could hear was their yells, and then suddenly realized that she was alone with one of the most dangerous ninja in the village, and that it was quite possible that he hated her.

"Um, th-th-thank you f-f-f-for agreeing t-t-to c-come, S-S-Sasuke-san," she said softly, staring at his sandals. Her stutter always seemed to get worse whenever he was around. She felt his eyes boring into her head, and her face heated up. She shifted uncomfortably, wondering if she just excuse herself when he spoke.

"You're welcome," he muttered. She looked up and smiled at him. He just avoided her gaze and walked after his team mates, hands shoved into his pockets.

Hinata turned and continued on her way, deciding to stop at the Yamanaka flower shop to ask Ino and her team. She knew that it wouldn't be as nerve wracking to invite them, after just having successfully managed to invite Naruto, whom she liked, and Sasuke, who scared the crap out of her. Anyone would be easy to invite after those two.

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	7. Chapter 7: Dilemmas

Chapter 7: Dilemmas 

Sasuke growled at some poor, unsuspecting villager, who yelped and leapt out of the avenger's way. The Uchiha heir was in a particularly bad mood, having just spent the majority of his day off trying to find a gift for Hinata.

He cursed himself once more for agreeing to go to her stupid party. He was already going to the formal one in a couple of weeks; he didn't need to celebrate her eighteenth birthday twice, for god's sake. And now, because she'd been stupid enough to ask him in front of Naruto and Sakura, his team mates hadn't let up on him. Sakura wasn't dense, and Sasuke was beginning to fear that his feelings for the Hyuuga heiress were becoming a little more transparent.

He should've just said no. He didn't have to try and impress her; he was going to the formal party to put himself forward as her betrothed. If her family agreed to accept him, than it didn't matter if she liked him or not, she would be his regardless. He should've just refused. But she had looked at him with wide eyes and red cheeks, her fingers poking together, stuttering out her invitation, and Sasuke, despite his best efforts, couldn't help but think "Cute" as she stood there. He had scowled even more at that thought. He was Uchiha Sasuke, damn it, he didn't think _anyone_ was cute.

_It w-w-would m-mean a lot t-to m-me_ she had said. He had agreed before he knew what his was doing.

And now he was trying to find a gift for the Hyuuga heiress. He had no idea where to begin. Should he get her clothes? He didn't know her size. What about jewellery? She didn't wear any. He sighed in frustration, running a hand through his hair. If he didn't find anything today, then he was going to have to ask someone for help and that was something he didn't want to do. For some reason, he wanted to get her something on his own, something that was just from him.

He stopped in front of a small but expensive looking store. The window display held various bits of decorative jewellery. This was it. He was going to go in here and he wouldn't leave until he found something.

An hour later, Sasuke left feeling pleased and a little apprehensive. He had found something that he thought she would like, but he was worried that it might give away more than he wanted. Didn't it mean something when guys gave girls expensive gifts? And the thing he got _had_ been expensive. He was wondering whether he should just return it and get her a book when it was suddenly snatched from his hands.

He turned to see Kakashi looking into the bag.

"Kakashi," he growled, extremely angry that his old sensei had managed to sneak up on him like that. Hinata was turning him into a sloppy ninja.

"Well, isn't this interesting. Who is it for?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke tried to snatch the bag back, but Kakashi evaded him, waiting for an answer. Sasuke scowled and remained silent. He wasn't going to tell Kakashi anything.

"Hmmm. Must be for Sakura, she's the only female you know well enough to give such a gift to. I can't wait to tell her that after all these years, you're finally going to return her feelings…"

"It isn't for Sakura," Sasuke muttered, abandoning his cool, I'm-not-telling-you-anything expression for the more common I'm-pissed-off one. The last thing he needed was for Sakura to get all soppy on him. Lately, she had become much more bearable by backing off and he didn't want Kakashi to ruin that.

"Then who is it for?"

"No one," Sasuke grumbled, folding his arms across his chest. Kakashi blinked his one visible eye, then grinned. At least, Sasuke thought he was grinning. If only he would take off that _damn_ mask.

"Why Sasuke, I didn't know you went that way. And it will look so nice on you to," Kakashi said jovially. Sasuke lunged at his former teacher, but Kakashi just dodged him.

"It's for Hinata," Sasuke finally disclosed, giving in.

"Really?" Kakashi mused thoughtfully, handing the bag back to Sasuke. Sasuke didn't reply, he just took off, cursing his old teacher, gift shops, and Hyuuga Hinata for having a face he couldn't refuse.

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Neji had successfully managed to avoid his former team mates for the past few days. After inadvertently witnessing their rather..._intimate_ (and compromising) embrace, he really didn't want to meet up with either of them. Especially Lee. Tenten he could probably handle, after all, she was pretty level headed for a girl. Which begged the question: what the _hell_ was she doing with Rock Lee? Or rather, _why_ had she'd been doing what she'd been doing with Rock Lee? He didn't understand it. Tenten had never shown any overt signs of attraction to the taijutsu specialist. In fact, she had shown more interest towards him, not Lee. So why…?

Not that he was complaining. If her attraction shifted from him to Lee, great, it meant he didn't have to deal with it. He had enough fangirls as it was, and he rather enjoyed his friendship with Tenten, he'd hate to have to hurt her by being cool and aloof. Well, more cool and aloof than normal. But still, Lee? Not to sound conceited, but what girl would choose Rock Lee over him?

To distract himself from this rather puzzling dilemma, Neji focused on his self-appointed mission: pairing up the Rookie Nine. Hanabi had arranged for a party for Hinata, and Neji had watched (cleverly concealed, of course) as Hinata had invited the Uchiha heir herself. Neji had been annoyed with the Uchiha and his hostile attitude. Poor Hinata probably thought that Sasuke hated her. That wasn't good, Hinata needed to become comfortable around Sasuke if she was ever going to like him. So Neji had followed the Uchiha carefully, making sure that the Uchiha choose an appropriate gift for his cousin. If he failed to get her something nice, Neji was going to step in and offer some 'friendly' advice. He had been pleasantly surprised and somewhat relieved at what Sasuke had chosen. He had been concerned that the avenger would have gotten her something along the lines of a book, but the gift he chose was more expensive and personal. Neji was pleased with the Uchiha's choice, especially since it meant that he didn't have to step in just yet.

As for Yamanaka Ino and Nara Shikamaru, Neji decided to take a more active role in pushing them together. As far as he could tell, the two were starting to become attracted to each other. The only problem was that doing anything about it rested on Shikamaru's shoulders (Ino wouldn't give up her ridiculous notion that she was in love with Sasuke), and the ninja was so lazy that Neji wondered if anything would ever happen. Maybe he needed a little motivation, perhaps some competition? Yamanaka Ino, though one of the most beautiful ninja in Konoha, was also a loud admirer of Sasuke. The only males that have gotten close to her had been her team mates. No other man had ever made an honest effort to distract her from Sasuke, and since the Uchiha had no interest in Ino, Shikamaru was safe in the knowledge that he would likely always be the first guy Ino went to. Neji suspected that, though outwardly very lethargic and indifferent, if there was any real chance that Ino would _actually_ be taken away from Shikamaru, the shadow user would become most…upset. It was only a theory, but Neji decided that he would try and prove it.

As for Sakura and Naruto, Neji was seriously considering just locking the two of them together in a small room for a few days to see what happened. Naruto's affections were obvious; it was just Sakura that was wavering. As long as she was in doubt, she wouldn't do anything with Naruto for fear of hurting him. Frankly, her indecisiveness was really beginning to annoy Neji. He thought Naruto should just up and kiss her, that should make things pretty clear to the girl.

He was interrupted from his planning by a loud voice.

"NEJI! Where have you been? I have been looking everywhere for you, and I'm glad I found you. I had promised myself that if I didn't find you today, I would punish myself by doing 500 laps around Konoha!" shouted Rock Lee.

"Jeez, Lee, don't be so dramatic. Hey Neji, wait up!" called Tenten.

Neji closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. He opened them to see Lee right in front of him, staring at him with concern. Tenten was a few feet behind the taijutsu specialist, her brown eyes equally worried.

"Are you all right, Neji? You didn't show up for training and Lee-kun and I were wondering what had happened to make you miss it. You've never missed a training session without telling us before, did you get called on a mission?" she asked.

He stared at them, his eyes narrowing. At first glance, they seemed perfectly normal. He did notice, however, that both of them were taking great care not to get too close to each other

"Hn," he muttered, for lack of anything to say. Tenten was the first to notice his scrutiny, and she shifted slightly. What was wrong with Neji? He'd been avoiding her and Lee for the past three days, and he hadn't shown up for training…it hit her then, and her face flushed red.

"You saw us, didn't you Neji?" she asked softly. Lee blinked at him, and then blushed. Neji watched as both his team mates looked away from him in embarrassment. Tenten avoided his gaze, and Lee finally stepped back from him. Neji watched as they unconsciously turned their backs to each other.

"Look, Neji, Lee and I talked about it, it didn't mean anything, we don't know why it happened, and we decided it would be best just to put it past us. Do you think you could, you know, forget you ever saw it?" Tenten asked. Lee just stared off into the distance.

Forget? How could he forget? He was scarred for life, the image of the two of them…doing _that_…burned on the back of his eyelids.

"It didn't mean anything?" he asked sceptically.

"Of course it didn't, I mean, it's Lee, for god's sake," Tenten said, turning back to face Neji. She missed Lee's shoulders droop, but Neji didn't. Tenten winced when she realized how harsh that sounded, and turned to face Lee's back.

"Lee, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that," she said quickly, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder. Lee turned before she could complete her action, his face in his normal wide smile, complete with gleaming teeth that pinged just like Gai's. Both Neji and Tenten winced at the sudden brightness.

"Don't worry Tenten, I know what you meant. You just meant to say that my heart belongs to Sakura, and that no other woman could ever take her place," he declared.

Tenten narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Yeah, something like that," she said a little frostily. Neji watched as his two team mates, who normally got along very well, suddenly bid him goodbye and left in opposing directions. Tenten with a slight scowl on her face and Lee trying to convince everyone he wasn't upset by smiling incessantly.

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	8. Chapter 8: The Unexpected Gift

Chapter 8: An Unexpected Gift

Neji stood silently in a corner, watching the people carefully. Surprisingly, the entire old Rookie Nine had been able to attend. He was sure someone would have been called away on a mission, but no one had been. He knew that it must be the Hokage's doing.

Hinata was sitting on the couch, in between Naruto and Sakura. Sasuke stood against a wall, his gaze switching between the floor and the couch, looking mildly disgruntled. Chouji was standing near the food, of course, and Shikamaru was with him, leaning against a wall with his hands shoved in his pockets. Shino was sitting by the window, and Kiba was all over the room, talking to various people. He was currently trying to convince Kurenai to let Akamaru join the party. Neji looked once more at Shikamaru, noting his position and posture, before heading over to the blonde who was standing behind the couch.

He slipped behind her quietly and stood there waiting. Ino was talking animatedly with Sakura and Hinata. He was sure she knew that he was there, but probably dismissed it as nothing. He turned his gaze to Shikamaru, and waited until the ninja's half closed eyes shifted towards him. Time to test his theory.

He started by smirking slightly, before leaning in and speaking to Ino. He kept his voice low, so it wouldn't be easily overheard by the rest of the guests. He started a mundane conversation about their last mission together, keeping his voice neutral. This was going to be difficult. He had to make Shikamaru think he was interested in Ino, without making Ino believe that he, Neji, was interested in her. Thankfully, Shikamaru was a genius, and more likely to notice subtly, whereas Yamanaka would overlook it.

He glanced over to the shadow user, and noticed that Shikamaru was no longer leaning against the wall, with his eyes half-closed. Sure that he had the ninja's full attention, he touched Ino lightly on the shoulder before moving off, back to his original position to observe the rest of the party. Whenever he noticed Nara's eyes on him, he made sure to keep his gaze on Ino.

Ino moved of from behind the couch and announced to everyone that it was time for Hinata to open her presents. His cousin blushed as she suddenly found herself in the center of attention, and she turned redder when Naruto demanded that she open his first. She obliged, and giggled when she saw that it was a package of instant ramen. Naruto beamed at her.

"Thank you, Naruto," Hinata said softly. Sakura got up and bopped him on the head, but it was lightly done.

"Idiot. You don't give someone instant ramen as a birthday present," she scolded. Naruto rubbed his head and looked at her pleadingly.

"But Sakura-chan that's what Hinata-chan got me for my birthday, and I loved it! I thought she would too," he protested. Sakura sighed, but there was a slight smile on her face. Neji watched them closely, noting how Sakura, rather than return to her original seat beside Hinata, stayed on the arm of the couch beside Naruto. Ino took her place instead, handing Hinata her own present. It was makeup, and Neji almost scowled. His cousin shouldn't be wearing makeup, never mind that it was only a little, and nothing too outrageous. Only the fact that Shikamaru was eyeing him kept Neji from scowling at Yamanaka. He forced slight smile on his face instead, as if pleased that Ino and Hinata got along so well.

Her team mates gave her their gifts next; Shino gave her a small aquarium with cocoons inside. He explained briefly that they would turn into butterflies in a few days. Kiba apologized that his gift wasn't technically ready yet, as it was going to be a puppy from the clinic his sister worked at. Hinata beamed at this, and Neji wondered, with a faint flash of amusement, how the members of the Hyuuga household were going to handle having a dog in the family. Chouji gave her a gift certificate to a restaurant, and Shikamaru gave her a book. Sakura gave her a new sweater, and Neji gave her a new weapons pouch. The only gift left was the Uchiha's, but Neji didn't see it on the table where the others were. Instead, he was surprised when Sasuke handed it to Hinata himself. The Uchiha was surprisingly calm about it, considering everyone's eyes were on him. Sasuke just ignored them and moved back to his spot on the wall.

Hinata thanked him, and Neji noticed that her stutter was back. It was sign that the Uchiha made her nervous, and he watched as his cousin opened the gift with trembling fingers. She lifted the lid of the box, only to gasp in astonishment at what lay inside. Ino and Sakura both leaned over, and both gave exclamations of surprise and delight.

"Wow, Hinata, those are beautiful!"

"Sasuke-kun has great taste, you're so lucky!"

Hinata held up two beautiful hair combs. They were black, with pearls set out in the design of a flower. They were tasteful and elegant, much like his cousin. The girls fawned over them, Ino insisting on putting them in Hinata's hair. She did a quick, simple up do, arranging the combs in such a way as to have the flower design nestled against the heiress' dark indigo locks. Neji had to admit, they looked good on Hinata. The pearls matched her eyes, and made the Hyuuga colouring all the more striking. He glanced at the Uchiha, noting that all the boys were now staring at him. Neji smirked. Everyone else was beginning to suspect something that he had known all along – that the Uchiha heir had a thing for Hyuuga Hinata.

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Neji helped his cousin carry all her gifts home. "Did you enjoy your birthday?" he asked her. She nodded her head, smiling at him.

"Yes, thank you for coming, Neji," she said softly. They didn't say much else until they reached the compound. Hanabi was waiting for them.

"So? How did it go? Did you have fun, Hinata?" she asked excitedly, taking some of the gifts from her sister.

"Yes. I'm sorry you couldn't come, Hanabi," Hinata said. Hanabi had been meaning to come (she had wanted to see how Sasuke acted around her sister), but her genin team had been training. The younger Hyuuga heir just shrugged.

"That's all right. I got you something, it's upstairs on your bed. Come on!" and she took off to her sister's room. Hinata laughed and followed. Neji just sighed and followed his two cousins.

He entered to see Hanabi showing Hinata a new medical bag.

"Do you like it, sister? Sakura helped me pick it out. It has all sorts of compartments for your salves and stuff," she said. Hinata smiled.

"I love it, Hanabi, thank you. I've gotten so many wonderful presents, I feel spoiled," she said.

"Which one is your favourite?" Hanabi asked. Hinata blushed.

"I'm not sure," she said, "I like yours and Shino-kun's, and Kiba got me a puppy," she said smiling.

"What's this?" Hanabi asked, picking up the box that held Sasuke's gift. Hinata blushed as Hanabi opened it and gasped.

"Oh, Hinata, who got you these?" she asked, looking up excitedly.

"Sasuke-san," she said quietly. Hanabi blinked and turned to Neji. _Seriously?_ She mouthed at him. He nodded, and she grinned.

"Oooooooh, Hinata-chan, it looks like you've got an admirer," Hanabi teased. Hinata's face turned so red Neji feared that she might faint. He pushed Hanabi out of the room, and turned to make sure Hinata was still standing. She was wringing her hands together, staring at the combs.

"Neji, should I k-keep these?" she asked uncertainly. This question had been bothering her ever since she had opened the gift. "I mean, they're s-so expensive, and I'm just n-not sure it would be, um, proper…" she trailed off. Neji smiled, but she had her back turned to him and missed it.

"I think you should. The Uchiha has gotten you an expensive gift, to return it would be insulting him. They are yours now, Hinata, enjoy them," he said, and left her room.

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	9. Chapter 9: Advice

Chapter 9: Advice

Neji was meditating in his room Sunday afternoon when he heard a commotion outside of his window. He opened one eye and listened, only to cringe when he heard a voice call, "NEJI!"

Rock Lee was standing outside of the Hyuuga compound.

"NEJI! I MUST SPEAK WITH YOU!" Lee hollered. Neji closed his eyes and counted to ten.

"NEJI! I HAVE NEED OF YOUR ADVICE!"

There were sounds of a scuffle as the compound guards tried to get rid of him.

"NEJIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

He counted to fifty, and when he opened his eyes, it was surprisingly quiet. His relief was short lived when the door to his bedroom opened, admitting Hanabi and…Rock Lee. He glared at his cousin, who grinned at him.

"Hey, Neji, Lee-san says he needs to speak with you about something important," she said. Rock Lee pushed passed her and grabbed Neji by the shoulders. His eyes were full of…tears. Neji almost groaned out loud.

"Neji, my heart is most confused and in great pain, Tenten has been avoiding me, I fear our relationship has been ruined," he wailed. Hanabi raised one eyebrow at this speech. Neji glared at her and mouthed at her to leave. She did, laughing at the look on her cousin's face. It was contorted into some really weird expression, like he was going to hurl and kill someone at the same time.

Neji pushed Lee off of him and returned to his meditative pose. Lee sat on the floor across from him. He just stared pleadingly at Neji, until finally the Hyuuga genius gave in. He really hadn't wanted to get in the middle of this, but it looked like he was going to have to.

"What happened, Lee?" he asked.

"It's Tenten. She's been avoiding me, and she seems angry at me. I don't understand why," he said. Neji sighed.

"It probably has something to do with your 'encounter' in the forest," he said reasonably.

"But we swore that it wouldn't affect our relationship, that we'd put it behind us, that it would never happen again…except it did," he muttered. Neji stared at him.

"What?" he said. Lee blushed.

"Well, it happened again, that day you saw us. I ran into Tenten training, and I didn't mean for anything to happen, but she seemed upset, and I wanted to make her feel better, so I hugged her and then-"

"Enough, Lee, I don't need details," Neji cut him off, "So it's happened twice now, has it?" he asked.

"Three times."

"Three?"

"Yes, once more yesterday, while you were at Hinata-sama's party."

Neji stared at his team mate. So much for it never happening again. He sighed.

"Do you have any idea why you two keep doing this? You're supposed to be in love with Sakura, and as far as I can tell, Tenten has never shown any feelings for you beside friendship," he said.

"Tenten said that it was a release, that we were just caught up in the moment," Lee said.

"I didn't ask what Tenten thought, Lee, I asked you," Neji said. Lee shifted uncomfortably, avoiding his gaze.

"I…do not know anymore. I should be stronger than this, it should not keep happening, but it does. I don't know how to stop it, and I don't know if I even want to," he finished quietly.

"You can't kiss Tenten and still be in love with Sakura, Lee, it isn't fair to Tenten. It's either one or the other, not both," Neji said bluntly. Lee blushed.

"I know! I just don't know who I should choose, and what does it matter? Neither one wants me," he finished dejectedly. Neji stared at him in surprise. It was true that both girls though Lee rather ridiculous, in fact, most girls thought he was ridiculous. Lee had always seemed oblivious to the subtle barbs of the Konoha females, but as Neji looked at his drooping shoulders and downcast face, he wondered if Lee really _was_ oblivious. Against his will, he felt sorry for his team mate.

"You need to stay away from Tenten for awhile until you figure out who it is you're in love with. Once you do, you then need to talk to her. As for neither girl wanting you, you've made out with Tenten three times now, I hardly think she loathes you," he said. Lee looked up, his face shining with hope.

"Thank you, Neji; your words have been most helpful. Truly you are wise as you are talented, and I shall attend to your advice most faithfully," Lee declared, his eyes flaring up with the 'flame of youth'. He gave Neji a pinging smile along with a thumbs up, and then bounded out of the room. Neji just sighed heavily and went back to meditating.

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Haruno Sakura had come to a decision. Ever since Hyuuga Neji had asked her about Naruto, she had been conflicted. She had always thought that she was in love with Sasuke, that she always would be, and she had clung to that belief with a single mindedness that left little room for anything else. Now, however, she was having second thoughts. She had always hoped that the Uchiha would return her affections (she and every other girl in Konoha), but after his behaviour the past few days, she knew it wasn't going to happen.

Uchiha Sasuke had done the unthinkable: he had fallen in love. Actually, Sakura wasn't sure if it was love, it wasn't like she could just up and ask him, and Sasuke would never admit to feeling anything of the sort anyways. However, she was fairly certain that he felt _something_ for Hyuuga Hinata, and that it was a pretty strong _something_. She had her suspicions when he had agreed to go to her party, and after observing him closely over the next few days, she noticed other things as well. Like the way his eyes always seemed to be searching for someone when they were walking in a crowd, and how annoyed he got whenever Naruto got near Hinata, or referred to her as Hinata-chan. Granted, it was all subtly done, but Sakura had become something of an expert at reading Sasuke, and now that her eyes were open, she could see all the signs.

The biggest tip-off had been at the party. The gift Sasuke had gotten Hinata was amazing, and Sasuke had handed it to Hinata himself. To Sakura, it was like he was publicly declaring his intentions for the Hyuuga heir. She had expected to feel upset by this, and she was, a little bit. She couldn't trick herself into love without feeling a bit of pain when the illusion was gone. She had sulked for awhile after the party, but didn't feel as bad the next day. Upon reflection, she realized that it was because she had met Naruto earlier in the morning for breakfast, and he had lightened her mood considerably.

It was after realizing this that Sakura made her decision. She decided to give Naruto a chance. He always made her feel good, even though he also tended to annoy the crap out of her. She was attracted to him, he had grown up to be very handsome, and he was her best friend. There was only one problem: Naruto had declared months ago that he was going to stop asking her out.

Sakura wasn't sure about the best way to let Naruto know that she had a change of heart, so she decided to try and be a little nicer to him, even flirt with him a bit. However, she had forgotten to take into account how extremely dense her best friend could be. Whenever she did something nice for him, Naruto would stare at her as she had lost her mind, and any subtle flirting she did went right over his head. It was becoming frustrating. Now that she had decided on Naruto, she found that her feelings were growing rather quickly, but he insisted on treating her just as his friend.

One day, as they were passing a weapons shop, Naruto had mentioned that he needed some new kunai. Sakura had offered to buy him some, calling it a gift, but he had refused. She pushed the issue, but he remained adamant, and Sakura had ended howling in frustration and then smacking him on the head before stalking away. Upon reflection, she realized that this was a bit extreme, after all, Naruto didn't know why she had been so upset, but old habits died hard.

Another time she had run into him at the grocery store, accidentally-on-purpose (a trick she used to use on Sasuke) and offered to help him carry his groceries home. Once again, he refused.

"That's okay, Sakura-chan, I've got it. Thanks though!"

"Really, Naruto, I wouldn't mind, it would be no trouble," she had insisted, reaching for one of the bags, but Naruto maintained his grip on it.

"It's all right, you don't have too," he declared, not letting go of the bag. A tug of war began between the two of them.

"Naruto, let me help," Sakura had demanded through gritted teeth, desperately trying to maintain her temper. Naruto still refused, and gave one final tug. The bag split open, and everything tumbled out. Eggs cracked, jars broke, and Sakura ended up standing in the middle of the store covered in what appeared to be tomato sauce.

Naruto gaped at her, and watched as her green eyes lit up in the unmistakeable signs of anger. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the coming blow, but it never came. He hesitantly opened one eye and watched his best friend. Sakura was taking long, slow, deep breaths, and after breathing about ten of them, she opened her eyes and smiled. This scared Naruto even more than the anger, and he took a step back.

"Sakura-chan? I'm really sorry…" he started to say. She cut him off with a wave of her hand, the smile still in place, though it looked a little forced.

"No problem, Naruto, it was my fault. I'm the one who should be sorry. I guess I owe you for a bag of groceries now, huh? Can I pay you back later, I kind of want to change my clothes," she said. Naruto's mouth fell open as he nodded dumbly. He watched her leave the store, and then reached up and scratched the back of his head. Something was definitely wrong here. He decided that he needed some advice, and after depositing his remaining groceries in his home, set out in search of Sasuke.

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Naruto walked around the streets of Konoha, looking for his team mate. He didn't find Sasuke, but he did see Hyuuga Neji in Ichiraku's. Naruto paused for a moment, and then went in. After all, one stoic genius was as good as another when it came to advice, and Neji's would probably be better, after all, he had two girl cousins and would probably know a little more about the workings of the female mind than Sasuke would. Plus, Naruto was hungry.

Naruto plopped down next to Neji, who looked at him.

"Something's wrong with Sakura-chan," the Kyubi vessel declared as a bowl of ramen was automatically set in front of him.

"What's wrong?" Neji asked him, turning his eyes forward once more.

"She's being nice to me," Naruto said. Neji raised his eyebrow.

"And this is bad?" he asked.

"Well yeah. Sakura-chan's never nice to me, she just nags me all the time," Naruto said.

"Yet you're still in love with her?" Neji asked, confused.

"I'd rather be nagged at by Sakura-chan than any other woman," Naruto said matter-of-factly.

"I see," the Hyuuga genius said slowly.

"Yeah, and now she's not nagging me. She smiles at me all the time, and doesn't yell at me when I do something stupid, and she even offered to buy me ramen one day for lunch. She hates ramen," Naruto declared between mouthfuls of his food. Neji turned and stared at him. Uzumaki really was dense, wasn't he? Neji had noticed Sakura's change of attitude towards Naruto, and knew what it meant. He also knew that Uzumaki was completely confused, and had positioned himself at Ichiraku's, knowing that Naruto would wind up here eventually. He had planned this, and now it was time to finally hook up Naruto and Sakura and complete one phase of his mission.

"Perhaps she has realized that her feelings for you are not entirely platonic, and doesn't know how to tell you," he said bluntly. When dealing with Naruto, the best course of action was to be as simple and direct as possible. Naruto stared at him blankly.

"Huh?" he asked eloquently. Neji sighed.

"She likes you Naruto," he said. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"I know_ that_," he said exasperated, "She's told me before that I was her best friend."

Neji resisted the urge to bang his head off of the counter.

"No, you idiot, she's in love with you," Neji said.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, wait, what?" Naruto asked, staring at him.

"You heard me the first time," was all Neji said. Naruto just continued to stare at him, bits of ramen stuck to his chin.

"Are you going to do something about it?" Neji asked, hoping to snap him out of it. Naruto blinked, and then scoffed.

"You're nuts, Neji. Sakura-chan loves Sasuke, she always has," Naruto said, a bit bitterly.

"No she doesn't. When is the last time she approached the Uchiha?"

"Well, come to think of it, she hasn't done anything for awhile. In fact, she's been treating me better than…she…has…him…" his voice trailed off as he finally caught on as to exactly why Sakura was being nice to him.

"Holy crap, she does love me!" he shouted. Neji glared at his complete lack of decorum, but Naruto ignored it. Neji winced as the Kyubi vessel threw his arms around him in a hug.

_He's as bad as Lee_, Neji thought before throwing Naruto off of him.

"Never. Do. That. Again." he ordered, clenching his fists, but Naruto was too ecstatic to recognize the threat.

"Aw, Neji, you know you loved it," he said cheekily before running out of the ramen stand.

"Where are you going?" Neji called.

"To find Sakura-chan, where else?" Naruto shouted back at him. Neji glared at the retreating bright orange back, and then turned back to the stand.

"That's the first time I've ever seen him leave without finishing a bowl of ramen," the owner commented. Neji just grunted, and then sighed when he realized that he would have to pay for Uzumaki's uneaten food.

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	10. Chapter 10: An Actual Mission

Chapter 10: An Actual Mission

Ino looked up as Shikamaru entered the room. They were both currently on a reconnaissance mission in Cloud. Missing nin had been spotted within the vicinity of the village, and she and Shikamaru were there to see what was going on. If the village was harbouring missing nin, then they needed to know why and what for. She hadn't been too concerned about the mission, as it was one typical for her. What gave her pause was the fact that her partner for it had been Shikamaru. Not that he wasn't good, it was just that Hyuuga Neji was usually assigned on these missions with her. His bloodline was excellent for seeing things most people didn't want to be seen, whereas Shikamaru's genius lay in his strategizing.

"Did you find anything?" she asked. Shikamaru nodded his head.

"I've found a couple of targets. We'll use them tomorrow," he said. He had been scouting the area for potential people that Ino could use her unique mind techniques on in order to gather some information. Ino was glad to hear that he found someone, as she was beginning to get a bit bored. She could play the part of a tourist very well, but after the first couple of days, it began to wear on her. She sighed, and couldn't help but think that Shikamaru was taking his sweet time on this mission. If Neji had been here, they would've already found the missing nin's contacts.

"It's about time, I'm getting bored," she said as he headed towards the bathroom. She flopped back onto the bed as he started up the shower. They were staying in a room at one of the local inns (one of the higher end ones – Ino liked her creature comforts) under the pretext of a married couple. It was a cover that she and Neji had used a couple of times, and they had a story all worked out. That wasn't the case with Shikamaru, and she wondered again at why she was paired with him for this mission. The lack of a cover story wasn't difficult, after all, they had grown up together, been on the same genin team, and knew each other so well that playing at being married was surprisingly easy. It was just, she was always paired with Neji, so why the sudden switch?

The shower turned off and Ino sat up as Shikamaru left the bathroom, dressed in sweats and a T-shirt. She didn't like being in the dark, and was determined to get to the bottom of this.

"Hey, Shika, you work in the missions office, any idea why I was paired with you and not Neji?" she asked. He just grunted, and Ino went on.

"I mean, not that you aren't a great ninja, it's just Neji and I could've had this thing wrapped up in a week. We've been here a couple of days, and we've barely started," she said, missing the way Shikamaru stiffened.

"Would you rather be with him?" he asked quietly. Something in his voice made Ino look at him. He had his back to her, folding his clothes.

"Well, no, I guess not," she said, thinking the question slightly odd. What did it matter who she was with as long as the mission was completed? Sure, Shika didn't have the same abilities as Neji, but he was a great ninja, and she was sure they would complete the mission.

"Then what does it matter?" he asked. Ino's confusion melted into frustration. It was always like this, why couldn't he ever just _answer_ her.

"Come on, Shika, you know he and I are usually paired on these missions, so what's up? I know you know something," she said, her tone becoming demanding. Shikamaru sighed.

"There was a mission for a group of Ninja to Snow, and Neji was the best one to lead it. He went on that, and I was assigned to you as his…replacement," he explained. He failed to mention that it had been his call whether or not to send Neji to Snow, and since he knew that Ino was going to go on assignment, he made sure that Neji was somewhere else.

Shikamaru had been uncomfortably aware of the Hyuuga's attentions towards his long time friend ever since Hinata's party. It had been subtle (much like the Uchiha's affection for the heiress) but it had been there. Shikamaru didn't like it. Neji was no good for her, he was too stoic, and he couldn't imagine loud, obnoxious, annoying Ino as a welcome member of the Hyuuga family. She was too…bright, he thought, watching her as she brushed out her long, blonde hair.

"Humph," was all Ino said in reply to his explanation. She seemed to have lost interest in the topic, and they spent the rest of the night planning out their mission.

---------------------------------

The next week was relatively uneventful. Ino used her mind technique on the intended targets, and managed to find out some important information. She and Shikamaru would spend the evening discussing what they had learned and filling out reports. Ino decided that she liked having missions with Shikamaru. Even though he was considerably lazy, Ino felt more relaxed around him. With Neji, she was always concerned about not messing up and making a fool of herself. There was no concern with Shikamaru, she had known him so long, and he had seen her through some very difficult times – the break up of her friendship with Sakura, her tears when Sasuke had left Konoha, to name a few. Shikamaru knew her better than anyone, and she hoped that this was the reason that it was so easy to pretend to be his wife. She glanced at him as he left the washroom, rubbing a towel over his head to dry his hair, and then looked away, her cheeks feeling a little warm. This was ridiculous, she told herself, there was no reason _why_ she should suddenly feel like this about Shikamaru, he was just Shikamaru, for god's sake.

"We'll leave within the next few days," Shikamaru interrupted her thoughts as he sat back on the bed. Ino was stretched out beside him, staring at the ceiling. She glanced over at him, raising one eyebrow.

"Why the rush?" she asked. She thought they would be here for another week, at least.

"I have to go to the Sand for a meeting," he said. Ino's eyes narrowed as she felt a flash of anger. Of _course_ he had to go to the Sand, she thought, and snorted in disbelief. Shikamaru looked at her in surprise.

"What's your problem, I thought you would be pleased," he said. Ino glared at him.

"I don't think sacrificing the quality of our mission so that you can go see your _girlfriend_ is a good idea," she snapped, before flipping over on her side. Shikamaru stared at her in bewilderment.

"Girlfriend? What girlfriend?" he asked.

"Don't play dumb with me Shikamaru, I know about you and Temari," she said.

"Me and Temari? There isn't anything between me and Temari," he said, baffled. He knew that Temari had been flirting with him, but hadn't thought anything of it. He wasn't that interested in starting a long-distance relationship, too troublesome. Ino flipped over and faced him, eyes narrowed in anger.

"That's rich," she said. Shikamaru felt his own temper flare, an unusual occurrence, one that only seemed to happen around Ino.

"What about you and Neji?" he snapped at her. Now it was Ino's turn to stare at him in bewilderment.

"Neji? What about me and Neji?" she asked.

"Come on, Ino, you can't honestly tell that you aren't aware of his sudden interest in you?" Shikamaru asked, his own eyes narrowed in a glare. Ino's face flushed, but not out of embarrassment.

"That's the stupidest thing you've ever said. Neji isn't interested in me like that, I would know if he were. He tells me things, unlike _some_ people," she said. It wasn't entirely true, as Hyuuga Neji was the last person in the world to confide anything to anyone, and both Ino and Shikamaru knew it.

"Tch, you keep telling yourself that, Ino," he mumbled, lying down on his side with his back facing her. Ino almost growled.

"What is with you?" she asked, propping herself up and leaning over his shoulder to try and see his face, "You've been acting really pissy with Neji lately, and now suddenly you accuse me of having a relationship with him?"

"I never said that," Shikamaru snapped turning around suddenly. He flushed red when he realised that this put Ino's head right over top of his. Her blonde hair hung down around her face as she leaned over him and her eyes were bright with anger. She didn't seem to notice this at all and continued to harangue him.

"You just said he had a thing for me, and you seem to think that I know about it," she said testily.

Shikamaru blinked as he tried to remember what the hell had started this stupid argument in the first place, but it was hard with Ino's hair tickling his face. It smelled like flowers, he noted absently.

"Which is a load of crap. I _know_ when guys are attracted to me, I have a great sense about these things," she continued, oblivious to the fact the Shikamaru's hand was reaching up to push her hair back. It paused at this comment, and he snorted.

"No you don't, idiot," he said. She glared at him.

"Yes I do," she insisted, her voice rising in pitch. Shikamaru's hand fell to his side, and Ino became quiet when she saw the inscrutable look on his face. He had been looking at her like that a lot lately, and she felt the heat rise up into her cheeks as she suddenly realized how good he looked, and how close they were.

"Tch, troublesome," the moment was broken by Shikamaru as he turned over to face the wall again, ignoring Ino, and willing the heat to recede from his cheeks. Ino stared at his back for a moment, confused and flustered, before turning herself around to face the opposite wall. The two stayed like that the entire night.

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The next few days were the worst Ino could remember in a long while. She and Shikamaru had argued before, but things had never gotten like this. It was if a wall had suddenly sprung up between them. She knew he was keeping something from her, something important, but no matter how much she nagged him, he wouldn't tell her what it was. That, added to her growing attraction for him (something that was entirely unexpected and unsettling) left her feeling confused and angry.

Since Shikamaru was being so closed mouthed, Ino decided that she would be just as silent as well. She possessed the remarkable talent of making her displeasure known even when silent, so Shikamaru was left in no doubt that she was still fuming.

The two finished their mission efficiently and with as little communication as possible. Ino, though she would never admit, missed the easy camaraderie that had been present before, missed the closeness she and Shikamaru had on this mission. Still, it was all his fault, if he wasn't such a stubborn ass, and just _told_ her what was going on with him, they wouldn't be in this situation in the first place.

They were walking back to Konoha when the silence between the two of them finally broke. Ino had been thinking about the mission, about their argument, about how there was good chance Shikamaru might leave for the Sand one day, and decide that Temari was worth the trouble of a long distance relationship, and then Ino would loose him forever. The thought of not having Shikamaru as a permanent part of her life was very…painful.

"What's wrong?" Shikamaru asked, looking at her. Ino seemed upset. Not angry, like she had been the past few days, but sad, and he didn't like it. She looked at him with blue eyes that were surprisingly vulnerable, and he swallowed.

"Shika, are you sure you aren't going to leave Konoha for the Sand?" she asked quietly. Shikamaru resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Honestly, one woman flirts with him and he's suppose to be so in love with her that he would leave his home and everyone he cares about?

"Not for the reason you're thinking of. I may have to go for diplomatic reasons, but I won't be moving there to be closer to Temari, if that's what you're getting at," he said.

"Why don't you respond to Temari's advances?" she asked next, the troubled look not leaving her face, "I mean, she's attractive, strong, smart, very talented. Any guy would want her, but she's interested in you," she paused for a moment, and then looked at him, a sharp, penetrating look.

"Shika, are you in love with someone else?" she asked. Shikamaru almost choked on his own spit. How the hell had she come to that conclusion? Not that she was wrong, there _was _someone else. He wasn't as dense about his feelings as some people thought, and had known for awhile that his feelings for Ino had turned into something a little more than friendly. He wasn't going to tell her that, though, god knows how she'd take it. Unfortunately for him, something of the truth must have shown on his face, because her eyes had widened.

"You are! Who is it?" she asked.

"What does it matter? She'd never look at me like that anyways," he said, turning to stare at the road ahead of them.

"Is it someone we know? From the Rookie Nine maybe?" she quizzed him, watching his expression for clues. When he flushed slightly and shifted uncomfortably, she felt both elated and dejected. Elated, because it was someone from the Rookie Nine, which meant that he was in love with one of her friends, and would stay in Konoha. Dejected…well, she wasn't sure why she felt dejected.

"So it's either Hinata or Sakura? Hmmmm, I bet it's Sakura, every guy seems to fall in love with her at some point – Naruto, Lee, Kiba…" she trailed off, her eyes sad, and finished softly to herself, "everyone falls in love with Sakura, no one falls in love with me."

"I did," the words slipped out before he could stop them, and his heart stopped. He silently begged the powers that be for Ino not to have heard that, but they weren't listening. He watched in horror as she stopped and stared at him.

"What?" she asked softly. Shikamaru felt his cheeks heat up, and he moved past her, anxious to get back to the village before he could screw anything else up. It was too soon, she didn't see him as anything more than a friend. He had planned on trying to change that soon, starting by asking her to dinner, just the two of them, but now that was shot. He had just up and blurted out the whole truth right there. He resisted the urge to smack himself on the forehead.

"Shikamaru," she asked, catching his arm, "is this true?" Even as she asked, Ino knew that it was. Suddenly, everything made sense – his annoyance at her whenever she threw herself at Sasuke, the sudden hostility he felt for Neji, the strange way he'd been looking at her lately, the sudden flushed cheeks whenever she glomped him, as she was wont to do to her friends.

Nara Shikamaru was in love with her. Ino had no idea how to react to this, it was such a…shock. Before she could gather herself together, they had reached the village gates, and Shikamaru left with the excuse that he had to give the mission report and all the information they gathered to the Hokage. Before she could stop him, he was gone, and Ino was left standing there more confused than she had ever been in her entire life.

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**Author's Note**: I felt bad that the last chapter had no Sasuke/Hinata, so I rushed to post the next two. Chapter 11 has Sasuke/Hinata, I promise. Please bear with me.


	11. Chapter 11: A Winter Festival

Chapter 11: A Winter Festival

Neji sat patiently in his room, waiting for Hanabi to return from training. He had just returned from a mission to Snow, and was currently running through his unofficial mission in his head. Sakura and Naruto were together, or if they weren't, they soon would be. He knew that things were developing between Ino and Shikamaru – his theory about Shikamaru actually doing something about his feelings if there was some competition had proven correct. The mission Neji had just returned from was proof of that. Shikamaru sent him to Snow when the strategist knew perfectly well that Ino had an upcoming reconnaissance mission, which Neji would typically accompany her on. It was deceptively simple of Shikamaru to make sure he was assigned another mission. Neji had to applaud the strategist's…strategies.

Now that Sasuke's two main fangirls were taken care of, Neji could focus on the important part of the plan. Hinata's formal party was in a week, and it was at this event that the Uchiha would make himself known as one of the potential suitors for the Hyuuga heir. Then there was the council inquiry, in which Sasuke would have to try and convince the council why he was the best option for Hinata. Then there was a private meeting with Hiashi, and if Sasuke passed both of those, he would be presented to Hinata as a possible husband. The final decision would be up to Hinata herself, and it was this that Neji was currently pondering. He and Hanabi would help the Uchiha through the fist two meetings, but in the end, Hinata would have to accept him herself. The best way to guarantee this was for the Uchiha to befriend her.

However, this was difficult. Hinata was shy, and the Uchiha was socially inept. A friendship between the two could take months to develop, and Neji didn't have months, he only had a week. Drastic times call for drastic measures, and Neji found himself frowning at what he was going to have to do.

Hanabi entered his room then, and Neji motioned for her to shut the door. He activated his Byakugan to ensure that there were no eavesdroppers, and then started to outline the next part of his plan. When he finished, Hanabi just stared at him.

"I don't like it," she said, turning away from him and frowning.

"It doesn't matter whether or not you like it, Hanabi, it needs to be done," he said coldly. She turned at him, her eyes pleading. At that moment, she looked more like the thirteen year old she was, rather than the next Head of the Hyuuga she was always pretending to be. Neji sighed and his features softened.

"I don't like it either, Hanabi," he said quietly.

"She'll cry, Neji. She'll _cry_, it'll hurt her so much, and I don't want to do this," she said. Neji sighed. Yes, Hinata would get hurt, and yes, she would likely cry, but it was for her own good. It was the only way to get her to open up to the possibility of loving her potential betrothed. Still, it was hard. The next part of his plan was likely going to be the hardest thing he would ever do.

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The Winter Festival in Konoha had always held a special appeal to Hinata, likely because it was so close to her birthday. When she was younger, she used to pretend that all of Konoha was celebrating her birthday. The lights and games, food and laughter were all part of a grand party, one that she would never have in the Hyuuga household. She stopped pretending that the party was for her a long time ago, but the pleasantness of the memories made the festival the most enjoyable one for Hinata.

She was currently walking the streets of Konoha, searching for her cousin and little sister. She had come with Kiba and Shino, but Neji had asked her if she would mind joining him and Hanabi as well. Hinata had agreed, pleased to do anything with her sister and cousin. The more time she spent with them, the more they started to feel like an actual family. So when it drew near the time to meet with Neji and Hanabi, Hinata excused herself from her team mates and headed over to the quiet park, where Neji had asked her to meet him.

She enjoyed the silence and stillness of the park after all the commotion of the village, and she smiled softly to herself as she looked up at the moon. The smile left when she heard a soft giggling, and she activated her bloodline to see who it was. Moments later, she regretted it.

There, standing together with their arms about each other, were Naruto and Sakura. Sakura was laughing softly and Naruto was smiling down at her with an expression that Hinata had always wished would someday be directed at her. She felt something cold settle in her chest when he leaned in a kissed the pink haired ninja. Both seemed quite content in their position, in fact, Hinata didn't think she'd ever seen either one quite so happy. A choked sob escaped her before she stop it.

Sakura pulled back from Naruto and quickly turned, only to see Hyuuga Hinata, standing stricken and pale in the moonlight. Guilt and sorrow rushed through her so quick that she couldn't stop from gasping. Naruto noticed this and turned to see what had caught her attention. When he saw Hinata, he shouted out a warm, friendly greeting before Sakura could stop him.

"Hey Hinata-chan! What are you doing all the way out here?" he asked. Hinata didn't answer him, just stared, and Sakura's guilt quickly turned to concern. The Hyuuga heiress looked as if she were in shock, her face the same colour as her eyes, which expressed such…pain. Sakura took a step towards her.

"Hinata," a voice said suddenly, and Hinata felt a strong hand grip her arm. A good thing too, as she was sure she was going to collapse at any moment, and she didn't want that. Not when Sakura and Naruto were staring at her in such concern. Her Byakugan had deactivated as soon as she saw the two lovers, so she had no idea who it was. When Hanabi came up beside her a moment later, then she realized that the man who held her arm and was speaking in quiet tones to Naruto and Sakura must be Neji. She had never been more thankful to her cousin as he led her away. Sakura and Naruto left, and Hinata felt herself being pushed gently down on a bench. Hanabi was bending over her, concerned.

"Hinata? Hinata, please, sister, say something," she said. Hanabi's voice was filled with worry, and it triggered something in Hinata. She heaved a great shuddering breath as the tears started to fall. She barely registered Neji putting his arms awkwardly around her, holding her as she sobbed into his chest. Hanabi was still standing, now wringing her hands together in concern, unconsciously emulating Hinata's own nervous habit.

When the sobs quieted, she heard her sister saying it would be all right, and that she was so sorry.

"This sucks, I don't care anymore, you wait right here, Hinata, I'm going to get Neji," Hanabi said before running back towards the village. It took a moment for her sister's words to register in her mind, but when they did, Hinata almost choked.

_Go get Neji?_ But if it wasn't her cousin here, than who was holding her? She looked up, only to stare in surprise as black eyes looked back at her.

Uchiha Sasuke.

Hinata squeaked and leapt back, staring at him in mortification.

"I'm so s-s-s-s-sorry, s-sorry Uchiha-s-san, I'm so t-t-t-terribly s-s-s-sorry," she stuttered, horrified that she had just had an emotional breakdown on the avenger. He watched her, eyes dark with concern, but Hinata, in her current state, didn't notice this.

"I d-d-didn't r-realize that it w-w-w-was you, I'm s-s-so s-s-sorry," she couldn't seem to stop babbling, and it was so hard to breath. Sasuke, seeing her panicked state was going to cause her faint or hyperventilate, cautiously slid next to her and awkwardly took her hands.

"It's all right, Hinata-sama," he said quietly, trying to keep his voice calm and steady. She stared at him with wide white eyes, and he couldn't help but think that she was beautiful. He shoved those thoughts away ruthlessly. Now was not the time to indulge in stupid, insipid feelings. Hinata needed to calm down. He continued talking to her softly, assuring her that he wasn't upset, and that she should calm down and breathe, and she listened, eventually. She took a few slow, deep breaths, her eyes never leaving his, and Sasuke began to unconsciously rub her hands in his.

"I am sorry," Hinata said softly at last, her eyes no longer panicked. Sasuke nodded to show that he accepted her apology, and reluctantly let go of her hands. She wrapped her arms around herself and stared up at the moon. He didn't know what to say, so he just sat with her, watching the way the moonlight reflected off of her hair, and the way she just seemed to glow in it. He cleared his throat abruptly and turned his attention the night sky. It was safer than staring at her.

They sat like that for awhile, the silence between them strange, but not uncomfortable. Hinata's fear of the Uchiha, she was surprised to find, had evaporated. He had been so kind to her, so gentle she could hardly believe that it was him. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye to see his face set in its usual scowl, and fought the sudden insane urge to giggle. Her humour faded quickly as she looked at her hands, suddenly nervous. Uchiha Sasuke had managed to confuse her greatly lately, and she wanted to know the truth. She had sworn, for the longest time, that he had hated her, but perhaps, in light of his gift to her, and his kindness tonight, that wasn't really the case. She took a deep breath, and willed herself not to be frightened. After all, she had just sobbed all over him, and he hadn't taken offence. Surely he wouldn't be upset over a simple question?

"Um, Sasuke-san?" she asked. He looked at her, and she almost lost her nerve. She stayed silent, willing her mouth to move.

"What is it?" he asked finally. She blushed lightly and looked down.

"Do you h-hate me?" she asked softly, staring at her hands. Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise at her question and then softened. He should, he reflected to himself as he watched her, pale and shaking. She was weak, and timid, and made him feel things he didn't think he should feel, but still, he didn't hate her.

"No," he said honestly, and Hinata looked up in relief. She caught his eyes, and held them, feeling a dark red creep into her cheeks at his expression. She looked down again quickly. Somehow, though she didn't know quite how to decipher his expression, she knew from it that he was telling the truth.

-------------------

Neji came a few moments later. He nodded in acknowledgement to Sasuke, and then quietly asked Hinata if she was all right. She answered honestly enough.

"No. Please, Neji, I'd just like to go home," she said softly. Neji nodded and watched as the Uchiha helped her off of the bench. Hinata thanked him quietly, and Neji noticed that she no longer stuttered. He was also surprised at the gentleness that Sasuke had shown his cousin. Although his expression didn't change much from the scowling one he usually wore, his eyes had softened somewhat as he extended his hand to help her up. Once she was standing however, his shoved his hands back into his pockets, said a quick goodbye, and left.

Neji escorted his two cousins back to the Hyuuga compound, feelings of guilt surfacing in him. Hinata's silence was broken only by her occasional sniffles, and Neji blamed himself for her current distress. It really was his fault, after all. He had arranged to meet her there, and than arranged for Naruto and Sakura to be at the same spot – all it had taken was a few suggestions. He knew the Uchiha would be wherever Hinata was (he had a habit of trailing after his cousin), and made himself scarce so that Sasuke would be there to comfort her. He felt sick at his actions, even though Hinata managed to loose her fear of the Uchiha. The last time Neji had deliberately set out to hurt his cousin had been at the chuunin exams, but this time, it was worse. Then, he had hated Hinata, now, however, she had become…important to him. It had taken everything he had to go through with this, and to make himself scarce when he knew his cousin needed him.

All three of them entered the compound in silence, proceeding to the Main House. When they got there, they paused in the hallway that separated their respective rooms.

"I'm sorry, Hinata," Neji said suddenly, turning to her, "I'm so sorry, for all of this." He knew that she had no idea how involved he was in this, and opened his mouth to confess when Hanabi interrupted.

"I'm sorry too, sister," she said, and shook her head at Neji. He kept his mouth shut. Perhaps now was not the right time to reveal his part in this. Instead, he did something he had never done before. He placed his arms around his cousin and hugged her. Hinata returned it, and Hanabi came up behind her sister and tried to encircle both of them, but her arms were too short. The three of them stood there, like some kind of strange Hyuuga sandwich.

Hiashi, as he passed the hallway, stopped and watched. As the three of them pulled apart and said good night, he thought that they would certainly change the future of the Hyuuga clan, and perhaps for the better.

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**Author's Note: **I know the ending is smaltzy, but I had to have Hinata get hugs all around after she went through all that. I apologize for any OoC-ness in the chapter. I tired to stay in character, but it was difficult. In fact, the last two chapters were the hardest ones to write, so I apologize if they aren't up to my usual standards.

I was going to do this at the end of the story, but I think now is a good time. I want to thank everyone for the wonderful reviews, I'm pleased that so many people like this story. Many of you have expressed a concern that Neji might be feeling lonely, and that I should try and hook him up with someone. This is a good idea, however, I don't think I'll be able to write it in. The story is too far along, and any love story containing Neji would seem awkward (to my mind, at least). Also, any romantic interest for Neji would have to be an OC or Temari. Neither one suits me. I don't think I could do Temari justice, and I have a deep mistrust of all OCs, even if I'm the one writing them. Please don't worry about Neji, he is quite content being a bachelor.

Thanks very much for reading!


	12. Chapter 12: Family

Chapter 12: Family

Hinata, when she woke up the next morning, felt…gross. Her head hurt and her eyes were red and puffy from her tears last night. Although Sasuke and her family had comforted her, she still felt as if she'd lost something vital and important. She had loved Naruto for as long as she could remember, and even though she was happy that he was finally with the girl of his dreams, she wished it could have happened without forcing her own dreams to shatter.

She rose and washed her face, the cool water helping ease the discomfort of her eyes. She looked at herself in the mirror and grimaced. Her pale face stared back at her. She always thought that she looked plain, maybe even ugly, what with her pale pupil-less eyes, white skin, and coarse dark hair. Such colouring always made her look sickly, but now, after a night of crying, she looked like death warmed over. She sighed and turned away, quickly dressing. She went down to breakfast, but didn't feel like eating anything. She just pushed her food around her plate while her sister quietly begged to eat a little something.

Hiashi watched his two daughters, and then turned a questioning gaze to his nephew. Neji occasionally would take breakfast with the Head family, as he had become something of a brother to both his younger cousins. Neji just shrugged his shoulders and returned to his own food. Hiashi sighed mentally. Hinata had grown stronger over the years, but she still felt things too deeply.

"Hinata," he said calmly, "I wish to speak with you." He stood from the table and left the room.

Hinata didn't glance up from her plate. She ate a few bites of the meal to satisfy her sister, then stood up and left as well, following her father towards his office. She entered and closed the door behind her before sitting before her father. He watched for a few moments, and she didn't squirm under his gaze as she was wont to do. Hiashi noted this, but wasn't impressed by it. Hinata appeared too depressed to feel nervous. He wondered briefly if now was the right time to talk to her about her future, or if he should wait. However, her party was happening in a week, and he wanted to warn her of what to expect. It was going against the council's wishes, but she deserved to know.

"Hinata, the family has decided to hold a formal celebration for your eighteenth birthday. It is next week, and many wealthy and influential families from neighbouring villages will be attending. The party is to give potential suitors a chance to meet you, so I expect you to be on your best behaviour. This is a chance for you to meet the suitors as well," he paused, but she didn't say anything. She had looked up at him, her face stunned. Hiashi continued.

"The suitors will present themselves before the council, and they will decide whether or not they would make an acceptable husband for you. Those who pass will have a private interview with me, and if they succeed there, then they may present themselves to you. The final decision rests with you." Hinata turned her face to the floor and remained silent for a few moments.

"I am to marry then? I have no choice?" she asked.

"No. This is what is best for the family, Hinata," Hiashi said calmly, "You are dismissed."

Hinata got up and left the room, her face set in an expression of shock. She didn't return to the dining room, and instead went up to her own room. She entered and shut the door behind her before moving towards her window. She sat in front of it in a meditative pose, staring out the window, but not registering anything that she was seeing.

She felt numb. She wanted to cry, but she had no tears left after crying over Naruto. She brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She closed her eyes and rested her head against her arms.

Marriage. The family was getting rid of her, but doing it in such a way as to destroy any chance she had at happiness. Of course, in light of Naruto and Sakura's new relationship, her chances at being happy in life have decreased significantly. She sighed, and looked up when her door opened. Hanabi entered and sat across from her.

"Did father tell you?" she asked. Hinata stared at her.

"You knew?" the older sister asked. Hanabi nodded.

"Yes. I listened in on the council meeting when they were discussing it. Neji and I are trying to fix it so that you can stay in Konoha," she said.

"How?" Hinata asked, bewildered.

"By marrying someone from Konoha. Then you can stay here, be a medic nin, and become a member of the council. I'll make you my right hand woman, or maybe even have you share leadership, if you would prefer. Please, sister, I know it isn't what you wanted, but it's the only thing we could think of…" she trailed off, watching her sister. Hinata turned and stared out the window.

Hanabi had a point, she realized. Her dreams had ended with Naruto's and Sakura's relationship. She had loved him for her entire childhood, he was her happily ever after, her fairy tale ending, but maybe now it was time to grow up and accept her responsibilities to her family. She knew that Hanabi would make the better leader, and she knew that if she stayed in Konoha, her sister would ensure that she would have a significant role in the future of the family. Perhaps it was best to leave her dreams of the fairy tale life behind, and make the best of the reality she was forced to live in.

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The next few days, Hinata tried her best to get over Naruto. It wasn't as difficult as it could have been. Her feeling for him had been unrequited, after all. He had always treated her kindness and friendliness, but never anything more. She had only ever had a faint hope of his returning her affections. Now that he was with Sakura, it only proved what she'd been saying to herself all along – that he would never notice her in that way, and it was best to move on. Her cousin and sister were a great comfort during this time. She discovered that sparring with Neji was a great way to combat the depression that sometimes stole over her, and Hanabi had managed to get her to laugh a few times. Surprisingly, Uchiha Sasuke had also proven to be of some help.

She and Sasuke had become something like friends since the night that he had held her while she cried. When she passed him in the streets the next day, he quietly asked her, while looking away, if she was feeling better.

"A little," she had replied, surprised that he had asked. He glanced at her then, and Hinata smiled. She thought that maybe his expression had lifted a little, but it was hard to tell. She herself had become much more comfortable around him. He had seen her at her weakest, her most vulnerable and hadn't ridiculed her. His silence and stoicism didn't bother really, once she knew that he didn't hate her. His attitude was a little like Neji's, so she was quite used to it.

She saw him nearly every day, and he always made a point to acknowledge her in some way, whether by glancing at her and nodding, or actually speaking. One day, while out running some errands in Konoha, she ran into Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto greeted her warmly, the way he always did, and Hinata had to work hard to keep her smile in place.

"Hey Hinata-chan! How's it going? I haven't seen you around lately," he said. Sakura had been holding his hand, but now discreetly dropped it, glancing at Hinata, her green eyes sad.

"Hello Hinata. How are you?" she asked.

"Fine," Hinata replied softly, and her smile became warm once more as she looked at her friend. She could see that Sakura felt bad about dating Naruto, knowing about the heiress's feelings for him. Hinata couldn't hate her, though. Sakura was kind, and she was her friend, and she made Naruto happy. It wasn't in Hinata to hold a grudge, and that's why when Naruto asked her to join them for lunch, she agreed. Seeing Sakura look so relieved and happy told Hinata that she had done the right thing.

Naruto grabbed Sakura's hand, and started dragging her to Ichiraku's.

"Come on, Sakura, I'm hungry. You don't mind if we eat ramen, do you Hinata-chan?" he asked. Hinata replied softly that no, she didn't mind, all the while trying to push her sadness away as Sakura and Naruto took the lead. Sasuke fell into step behind them, walking alongside Hinata. Soon, there was quite a distance between the two couples.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked her suddenly. Hinata glanced at him, surprised.

"Yes," she replied, turning her eyes away, "I can't ignore this forever. I have to get over him. Besides, it's useless to mourn something that never could have been."

Sasuke glanced at her quickly, frowning at the despondent look she wore.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Hinata shook her head.

"Nothing, sorry Sasuke-san," she said. She didn't really want to tell anyone that her family was forcing her to marry, especially Sasuke. As far as she was concerned, she had involved him with her problems enough already, she wasn't going to burden him with more.

She felt his eyes on her for a few moments before he turned away, and they entered Ichiraku's together in silence. They all sat down, Sasuke sitting himself between Naruto and Hinata. His best friend gave him a funny look, which Sasuke ignored. Naruto didn't get a chance to say anything though, as Sakura discreetly drew his attention away.

As lunch progressed, Hinata became more relaxed. Naruto and Sakura didn't act very differently from before, and the rare times they did do something…couple-ly, Sasuke acted as a sort of shield. If she leaned back a bit, he blocked her view of them. Surprisingly, she and Sasuke actually managed to speak to each other. She thought that it would be awkward – she was so shy, and he was so…silent, but they managed to carry on a quiet conversation about training and missions when Sakura and Naruto became distracted with each other.

They finished lunch, and Hinata bid a quiet good-bye to Naruto and Sakura as they headed off in the opposite direction. She turned and began walking towards her own home, and Sasuke came up quietly beside her. She glanced at him, a slight blush highlighting her cheeks. She was quiet for a few moments, trying to think of something to say.

"Lunch went well," she said softly. It was the only thing she could think of.

"Hn," he replied.

Hinata was unable to think of anything else to say. They had already spoken about missions and training, and there wasn't really anything else that she thought they had in common. She decided not to say anything, and in a few moments, Sasuke spoke up.

"Are you heading home?" he asked. He kept his eyes trained on the ground in front of them.

"Yes," she replied.

"I'll walk you there," Sasuke declared, and Hinata glanced at him. He kept his eyes fixed ahead of him, and she couldn't read his expression. She wondered briefly if she should refuse, not wanting to be a bother. But then, he wouldn't have asked if he thought she was a bother. She decided it was best to just let it be.

"Thank you," she said softly, and turned to stare at the road ahead of them.

------------------

Sasuke was actually enjoying himself. Hinata had become much more relaxed around him, and the two walked in a companionable silence. He appreciated the fact that Hinata didn't feel the need to chatter incessantly. Having been team mates with Naruto and Sakura, it wasn't often that he could simply walk quietly with someone. Occasionally she would speak, greeting people in the street, of commenting on something she found interesting. He listened, usually replying with one word answers, if at all. She didn't seem to mind. She seemed to know that he was listening, and wasn't offended at his reticence. She was probably used to it, after all, she was Neji's cousin, and he wasn't exactly loquacious.

They entered the area of the village where her compound was found, and he walked her to the door. She turned to face him, opening her mouth to say something, but before she could get anything out, the door flew open.

"Hinata!" came an exuberant voice, and a face similar to Hinata's, though thinner, appeared. He blinked as white eyes stared at him carefully. He scowled, and the person opened the door wider, letting him see the whole person. It was a young girl, maybe around thirteen. Obviously she was Hinata's younger sister. What was her name? Hina? Hana?

"Hanabi," Hinata said. _That's it_, Sasuke thought. He studied the young girl, not bothering to hide the slight sneer that crossed his face. It had little effect on Hanabi, who just continued to study him as if he was some sort of interesting bug she had pinned under a glass.

"Sister, who is this?" she asked.

"Hanabi," Hinata started again, "This is Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke-san, this is my sister, Hanabi."

He nodded briefly in acknowledgement, then narrowed his eyes when Hanabi suddenly smiled a wicked little grin.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, so _he's _the admirer who gave you those combs. He's hot, Hinata, congrats on a great catch," she said, and disappeared, leaving Hinata standing on the doorstep looking absolutely mortified and Sasuke looking murderous.

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	13. Chapter 13: The Flaming Power of Love

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Chapter 13: The Flaming Power of Love

Tenten walked down the streets of Konoha, searching for Lee. She hadn't seen him in awhile, which was her fault, she knew. After the run in with Neji, she thought it best to put some distance between herself and the taijutsu specialist. She had been annoyed with him for some reason, something that seemed to happen a lot lately. Of course, Lee had found her training, and one thing led to another, and before she knew, they were making out again, right there in the middle of the training field. Her cheeks flushed red – what if someone had come along and seen them again? Thankfully, no one had, and both of them promised not to do it again.

It did happen again though, once more on Saturday night. This time, it occurred in her home. Her parents had been out; Lee had come over for movie night. She wished that Neji had been there – if he had been there, nothing would have happened. But it had. One minute they were sitting on the couch, the next, they had their arms around each other. It had been both a blessing and a curse that the third session happened in her home – a blessing, because no one would see them, and a curse, because as their kissing became more…intense, she was close to suggesting they go all the way. Her entire face broke out into a bright red blush at the thought. She couldn't believe she had actually considered sleeping with Lee. Honestly, what the hell was wrong with her? After that night, she took to avoiding him completely, confused by her own feelings.

However, now that a week had passed, and she hadn't seen him, she thought she had better try and search him out. He was probably wondering what was going on with her, after all, she usually saw him every day. Knowing Lee, he'd probably be getting all dramatic, jumping to conclusions, and she wanted to spare him that. It had nothing to do with the fact that she missed him, because, of course, she _didn't_ miss him.

After searching Konoha for half the morning, and still not finding him, she decided to ask her old sensei if he had seen his miniature self. She found Gai doing push-ups in the village square. Most people would find this odd, but Tenten was used to her teacher's…quirks. He probably lost to Kakashi again.

"Hey Gai-sensei," she called, walking up beside him, ignoring the odd stares her teacher was getting from the various people surrounding him.

"TENTEN!" he shouted in greeting. Tenten winced and wondered how he could be that loud while doing one armed push-ups.

"Tenten, forgive me for not getting up, but I once more lost to my rival, KAKASHI, and this is my punishment: 500 one armed push-ups in the village square," the green clad ninja declared. Tenten sighed and patted his back in a show of support.

"It's all right, sensei; you'll get him next time. Gai-sensei, do you happen to know where Lee is?" she asked.

"Ah, Lee. Yes, I believe he was sent on a mission. He won't be back for another few days," her teacher said. Tenten blinked, and felt a sudden flash of hurt. On a mission? But Lee always told her when he was leaving for a mission, just like she always told him. She frowned and stood up, bidding her sensei a distracted goodbye.

She headed over to the missions office, her hurt giving way to anger. Fine. If Lee didn't want to be around her, she didn't want to be around him. She entered and demanded the first mission that would take longer than a day, and received a three day mission to Sand. She took it and left within the hour. The only person she told where she was going was Neji, and that was just because she saw him on her way out of the village.

"Good luck, Tenten," he said, "Did you say good-bye to Lee?"

"No," she spat at him, and Neji raised an eyebrow at her sudden anger. She ignored it and went on her way.

-----------------------

Boys were stupid, Ino decided. Really, really stupid. There were the ones that were emotionally constipated, like Sasuke and Neji, and then there were the really dense ones, like Lee and Naruto, and then there were the ones that dropped a sudden declaration of love on you, and then disappeared. She hadn't seen Shikamaru since the day they returned from their mission, and she was starting to get pissed. How dare he drop something like that on her and then disappear? He probably thought that he was giving her space to sort things out, but Ino wasn't like him. She didn't think things through a million and half times, trying to see it from every angle. Shikamaru loved her. She had been surprised at the revelation, but it had only taken her an hour to figure out what to do with it. She didn't need three whole days. Twit.

After the fourth day, she decided to do something about it. She wasn't going to wait around for his lazy ass to get in gear, she had a life to live, thank you very much, and this needed to be resolved. She marched around to the back of the Nara residence to where she knew his window was. It was late afternoon, and Shikamaru had the day off (just like she did). She had thought for sure that he would try and see her today, but he hadn't shown up. Well, fine, she would come to him, and he would regret making her do this. She knew on his days off that he liked to sleep, or watch clouds. She had gone to his favourite cloud watching spot, but he wasn't there, and that only left his room. Ino picked up a handful of pebbles and hurled them at his window. After a few minutes of doing this, the window finally opened, and Shikamaru stuck his head out, only to get smacked in the face by a handful of rocks.

"OW! Ino, what the hell?" he yelled.

"Shikamaru, how DARE you tell me you love me and then run away!" she yelled. Shikamaru's face turned red as he heard his father burst out laughing from downstairs. He muttered under his breath and left the window, ignoring Ino's screams telling him to get back there and talk to her. He walked downstairs quickly, ignoring his father's guffaws as he headed outside.

Ino turned on him when he entered the backyard. He swallowed hard when he saw how angry she was. Her hair was flying around her head, her eyes were bright, her cheeks red, her lips pursed into that cute, pissed off pout thing that only she could do. God, she looked hot. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he tried to drive away that thought as it was not conductive to surviving and encounter with an angry Yamanaka Ino.

"Ino, what's wrong?" he asked. She glared at him.

"What's wrong? I told you what's wrong," she said. Shikamaru turned his eyes away and avoided her gaze.

"I thought you needed space…" he trailed off, not wanted to admit that he had run away just to save himself from hearing her rejection.

"You are such an idiot. I didn't need three days, Shika, I knew what I was going to about this in an hour!" she yelled. He scowled at her.

"Oh yeah? So what are you going to do?" he asked, preparing himself for the 'let's be friends' speech.

"This," she yelled, grabbing him by his collar and kissing him. Shikamaru blinked in shock, then smiled against her mouth. She pulled back with a loud smack, glaring at him triumphantly.

"We are now dating, Shikamaru. I've decided that I love you too," she declared, "and you are taking me out tonight, to the most expensive restaurant in town."

"What? Why?" he asked.

"Because you're an idiot," she said matter-of-factly.

Shikamaru wondered briefly what he had just gotten himself into, but decided, as Ino reached up and kissed him again (softer this time) that he didn't particularly care.

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Tenten returned from her mission late in the evening on the third day. She stopped at the Hokage's office briefly to leave off her report, and then went to the hospital to get some wounds looked at. She met Sakura there, who bandaged her up. They left the hospital together, and Tenten got the shock of her life when Sakura met Naruto outside, and the two greeted each other with a brief hug and kiss. She blinked as Sakura blushed.

"Naruto and I are dating," she explained briefly. Tenten nodded dumbly and watched as the two left, her thoughts turning to Lee. Did he know about this? If he did, he'd be devastated. She sighed and headed to her friend's apartment. She didn't want him wallowing in grief over this. She could just see him, and complete mess, eyes full of tears as he wailed over his loss and bemoaned his broken heart.

Honestly, he could be such a drama queen sometimes.

She knocked on his apartment door quietly, a little concerned by the lack of crying. It opened almost immediately. Rock Lee stood there, just staring at her. For the first time, Tenten didn't know what to make of him. She cleared her throat.

"Can I come in?" she asked. He opened the door wider and she followed him inside.

"I just ran into Sakura and Naruto. Do you know…?"

"Yes," he said quietly, watching her. Tenten became nervous at his apparent calmness.

"Look, Lee, I know you mus-" she was cut off as he kissed her, moving so fast she didn't have time to react. She quickly got over her surprise, and sunk into the kiss. He had never kissed her like this before. It was slow, tender, and when he pulled back, she blinked up at him, not sure what to make of it. His face was surprisingly serious.

"I have missed you Tenten," he declared. Tenten sighed and let her head fall on his chest.

"I missed you too, Lee," she said softly. He stepped back from her, watching her, his face unreadable. Tenten was confused. Since when did Lee become unreadable? She was snapped from her thoughts when he spoke.

"Will you stay with me tonight, Tenten?" he asked. She stared at him, a dark red flush creeping across her cheeks, her heart suddenly beating very, very fast. She took a deep breath and stepped back.

"I don't know if that would be…appropriate," she said softly, still watching him. He eyed her quizzically for a moment.

"You've stayed the night before, Tenten. You sleep on my couch, since you always refuse to take the bed. Please, I wish to have you near…" he trailed off awkwardly, and Tenten mentally smacked herself. Of course that was what he meant, he just wanted company. He didn't want…_that_.

"All right," she agreed, setting her pack down and moving towards the couch. She dropped down, and Lee followed her. They were quiet for a few moments, and Tenten couldn't remember ever feeling this awkward around him. It was weird. She was relieved when he suggested they watch a movie, and she quickly agreed. He put something on, she didn't pay attention to what though. She was so tired – physically from her mission, and emotionally from her rollercoaster feelings about her friend. She felt her eyes slip shut, and she promised herself that she would only close them for a few moments…

She woke up the next morning still on the couch. She was very warm, and right near the edge. When she pushed herself back away from it, she met with resistance. Turning, she saw Lee behind her with his arm draped across her waist. She watched him while he slept. As the sun shone through the window and landed on his dark head, it hit her.

She loved him.

She felt like crying and yelling at the same time. She didn't want to love Lee for god's sake, he was so…so…just so Lee! He had a stupid haircut and bushy eyebrows and creepy eyes. He wore green spandex and orange leg warmers and thought that Gai-sensei was the greatest ninja _ever_! He gave ridiculous speeches and was overly dramatic all the time.

And he loved Sakura.

Crying won out, and Tenten quickly gathered her clothes and left before he could wake up and see the mess she had made of their relationship.

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Neji found her. She had been beating the crap our some poor unsuspecting tree trunk, trying to bury her pain under anger. He watched her for a bit before speaking.

"Lover's spat?" he asked. She growled at him, throwing her kunai at the target. Her aim was off, and she scowled.

"You need a lover to have one of those," she muttered, stalking over to the tree and ripping out the kunai.

"You do have one. I know about you and Lee," he said, calmly. Tenten didn't look at him, feeling a blush light up her cheeks. Of course he knew, Neji always knew. She sighed.

"It doesn't matter, it's over," she muttered.

"Why?"

"Because Lee doesn't love me, he loves Sakura," she said.

"I don't think he does. I was there when he found out about Sakura and Naruto. He was surprisingly calm. I think his affections have shifted. You should talk to him," and with that, he left her.

Tenten stayed still, her weapons left unused on the ground as she stared at nothing, pondering her team mate's words. After a few moments, her jaw and shoulders squared as she came to a decision. She packed her stuff and away and set off in search of Lee. After wondering around Konoha for awhile, she finally found him. Ironically, it was in the same spot where it had all started. She allowed herself a brief smile at the memory, and then cleared her throat to announce her presence. He had been training, like she had been, but stopped when she entered the clearing.

"Tenten," he said softly. She smiled at him, and then took a deep breath. This was it.

"Lee. I'm sorry I left like that. I want to tell you something," she took another deep breath, and then plunged in.

"I love you. I have for awhile; I just didn't want to acknowledge it. That's why I kissed you that day, that's why I keep coming back to you. I just thought you should know."

It was an abrupt declaration, but then, lengthy speeches weren't really her style. Those were Lee's specialty. After she said her piece, he stared at her for a few moments, and she began to despair. Suddenly, he let out a whoop and swooped her up in his arms, swinging her around. Tenten barely had time to realize that he had just swooped her (seriously?) before he set her down.

"Tenten my love, you have no idea how happy you have made me. For sometime, my devotion to Sakura has been waning, and I found myself thinking more and more of you. Then, when I saw Sakura with Naruto, I realized that you had become my special person, more special than anyone. The flame of love that has ignited in me for you is strong and everlasting, I promise to protect you always, even in the face of –" this time she cut of him off with a kiss. His arms wrapped around her carefully as he returned it, and she smiled.

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K, so this chapter is a bit of rush job, I wanted to get it up before I leave for England. Sorry if it substandard, and look for Hinata/Sasuke moments in the next one.

Thanks for reading!

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	14. Chapter 14: The Formal Party

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Chapter 14: The Formal Party

The week passed quickly for Hinata, contrary to what she wanted. Before she knew it, the day of the formal party had arrived. She woke late, having slept poorly the night before. It was hard, knowing that today her fate would be decided. She desperately hoped that Neji and Hanabi had actually managed to get someone from Konoha to attend; although she was a little apprehensive as to whom they convinced to marry her. What if it was someone very old? What if it was Iruka-sensei, or worse, _Jiraiya-sensei_? She shuddered, then banished those thoughts away. Neji wouldn't do something like that to her, she was sure. Maybe he had convinced Shino or Kiba to do it. That wouldn't be so bad. It would be weird, but at least if it was one of her team mates, she could take comfort in the fact that they were friends.

She rose and was about to get dressed when there was a knock on her bedroom door. She activated her Byakugan to see who it was and she saw Hanabi standing outside in the hall.

"Hinata? Are you up yet?" she asked. Hinata walked over to the door and opened it up. Her sister smiled at her and entered.

"Well, this is it, the big day. Father is going to send some servants to help you dress later. In the meantime, you need to eat breakfast, and I managed to convince Father to let us have the bathing house to ourselves, you know, as a sort of sister bonding thing," she said, all the while hurrying about Hinata's room, pulling the covers back over the bed, handing Hinata her robe, and rushing her into the hallway. Hinata sighed and followed her obediently to the kitchen, where she managed to eat a few bites of her breakfast. She and Hanabi then headed outside, across the compound to the bathing houses.

By the time they finished in there, the servants were already waiting in Hinata's room to help her dress. The put her in a formal kimono, and did up her hair in an elaborate style. When asked which ornaments she would like wear, Hinata looked carefully at all the jewellery presented to her. She bit her lip, and decided that she would wear only Sasuke's combs. When they finished, she stared at herself in the mirror. Minimal makeup, the hair decorations the only jewellery she wore, and a simple white kimono completed her look. She sighed, and then turned when Hanabi entered the room, dressed in her own formal kimono.

"It's time, sister," was all she said, her normally bright voice now cold and subdued. Hinata nodded and followed her to the room where the party was being held. The first guests were just arriving, and Hinata took her position beside her father in order to greet them.

There were quite a few families attending, and the receiving line soon extended past the door. Hinata's brow furrowed slightly as family after family arrived, with no one from Konoha showing up. As the line dwindled down, she sent a concerned glance at her sister, who just smiled. Hinata sighed softly, and then continued to greet the guests. After a few more minutes, the line ended. Hinata's eyes searched out her sister once more, and when they located her on the other side of the room, she tried to catch her eye. However, Hanabi's eyes weren't focused on her older sister, they were focused on something behind her. Before Hinata could turn to see what it was, her father suddenly spoke.

"Uchiha Sasuke, we are honoured that you are able to attend. May I present my daughter, Hyuuga Hinata," he said formally. Hinata's head snapped around to find the young man standing before them, patiently waiting for her acknowledgement. Hinata stared at him with wide eyes, not registering the soft whispers and stares they were receiving from the other guests, or the hostile and surprised looks from the council members that were in attendance. Neji was standing behind Sasuke, and when he saw that Hinata was frozen, he cleared his throat pointedly. She blinked, then flushed and quickly bowed. Sasuke returned it, and then walked off into the crowd.

Hinata watched as he walked away, her expression still one of shock. Neji waited for Hanabi to come over, and together the two of them approached the Head and heiress, who were speaking in low tones. Well, Hiashi was.

"Hinata-sama, you should try and compose yourself," he said, gently taking a hold of her arm. Hinata blinked up at her father, and nodded once. She quickly schooled her features, and Hiashi smiled slightly at her before moving away to speak with one of the council members. Hinata turned to her cousin and sister.

"Sasuke? The one you picked for me was Sasuke?" she whispered. Hanabi grinned, and Neji nodded.

"I came to the conclusion that he was the best choice. He was more likely to succeed with the council than anyone else due to his bloodline, the lingering prestige of his family, and his skills as a ninja," Neji explained succinctly.

"But his past…he betrayed Konoha, the council won't easily forget that," Hinata said hesitantly, glancing over the where the Uchiha was leaning against a wall, scowling. Another guest, one of the potential suitors, approached him, but was quickly frightened away. Hinata smiled – she hadn't particularly cared for the pompous, self-important young man and was pleased to see him humbled by the intimidating Uchiha. She felt a little guilty about that, but when Sasuke turned and saw her smiling, his face softened in a way she was becoming familiar with, and she didn't feel so bad.

"…work on that," Hanabi was saying. Hinata suddenly turned her attention back to her cousin and sister, and blinked.

'"I'm sorry, Hanabi, I missed that. What did you say?" she asked. Hanabi grinned mischievously and Hinata was reminded of the night Hanabi had embarrassed her in front of Sasuke. Her cheeks flushed red and she avoided her sister's gaze.

"I said Neji and I will help him succeed at the council, and with father. After that, it's up to you. So Hinata, how'd you like to be an Uchiha?" she asked. Hinata's cheeks flushed even darker, and Hanabi giggled. She was about to tease her older sister some more when Neji stopped her.

"We should not discuss such things here," he said, looking pointedly at a group of council members and guests who were eyeing them suspiciously. Hanabi sighed, disappointed that she wouldn't get to bug Hinata, but then she glanced over to the scowling Uchiha and smiled. She'd make up for it later by teasing the hell out both of them, she decided.

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Sasuke hated parties, and he hated crowds. The Hyuuga celebration wasn't so bad as it was a formal affair, but it was dull, and there were too many people standing around for his liking. Also, he hadn't been able to get close to Hinata all evening, always being thwarted by some interfering family member. Neji had warned him about the resistance and hostility he should expect from the council members, but Sasuke wasn't the type to be intimidated by a bunch of old people, no matter how freaky their eyes were. When they glared at him, he just glared right back, not caring if he seemed belligerent. However, that didn't stop the old jackasses from preventing him from getting near the heiress.

"You're going to make it difficult to get them to accept you as a suitor if you keep scowling like that," a voice said. Sasuke turned to face Neji.

"I hate this," he muttered. Neji smirked, and Sasuke resisted the urge to hit it off of his face. The party was straining his already limited patience. Neji noticed this, and forced his face into a neutral position, though it was difficult.

"Why don't you go out into the gardens for a bit and calm down," he suggested, and Sasuke glared at him.

"I don't need to calm down," he muttered, paused, and then asked "Where are they?" Neji pointed to a set of doors.

"Through those doors, down the hallway, turn right through another set of doors, and you'll find the garden. They aren't nice at this time of year, but it would get you away from the crowd," he said, and then walked off.

Sasuke headed out immediately. As soon as he entered the quiet hallway, he felt some of the tension leave him. It disappeared completely when he stepped out into the cold night air.

He wandered around for a bit, enjoying the silence, following the little paths. He was halfway across the gardens when he suddenly noticed another presence. He immediately put up his guard and scanned the area, only to relax when he saw that the other person was Hinata. She was sitting on a stone bench, her head tilted up as she watched the stars.

"Hinata," he called softly. She jumped slightly and turned, and even in the dim light of the moon, he could tell she was blushing.

"Good evening, Sasuke," she said softly, looking away and shyly fiddling with her kimono. He approached the bench.

"May I sit with you?" he asked. She glanced at him and nodded, and he sat beside her. They were quiet for a few moments, and Sasuke glanced at her. She looked beautiful tonight. She was dressed simply, but he liked that about Hinata. She was quiet and elegant, rather than showy and loud. Her eyes were her most captivating feature, he decided. Her dark brows and lashes emphasized the pearl colour of her Hyuuga eyes. Her face was softly rounded, adding to the overall gentleness of her appearance. Her nose was small, and upturned a little at the end, and her mouth was soft and pink and very…kissable. His eyes abruptly shot up to her hair at this thought, feeling a little uncomfortable, and that was when he noticed her hair. Or rather, what was in it.

"You're wearing my gift," he said, feeling a sudden rush of warm satisfaction at the fact. She looked at him and nodded, a blush creeping across her cheeks. Sasuke's face softened as he felt more relaxed. He had long ago found out that spending any amount of time in Hinata's company had a calming effect on him, despite the fact that he was fiercely attracted to her. _Because,_ he told himself forcefully, _that's all this warm feeling was. Attraction._

"Yes," she said softly, "thank you very much for the gift, Sasuke. They are beautiful." They were silent for a few more moments, and then Hinata spoke.

"I don't like parties like this," she said softly, "too crowded."

He smiled slightly then. So they had something in common.

"I agree," he said. They sat for a few minutes, occasionally speaking when they thought of something worth saying. As the cold air started to affect her, Hinata unconsciously shifted closer to Sasuke. She didn't realize she was doing it until she suddenly felt his leg and arm against hers. She blushed slightly, but he didn't seem to notice, so she remained where she was because he was warm, and the evening air was very cold.

Sasuke had most definitely noticed as the heiress slowly started shifting towards him. When she came so close as to touch him, it was all he could do to not stiffen at the contact and the sudden rush of…something he felt when it happened. He knew that if he gave any indication that he had noticed, Hinata would probably back off. He didn't want her to back off, even if having her so near was affecting his nerves in an odd way. His entire left side, which she was pressed against, seemed suddenly on fire. He took a deep breath to calm down, but that didn't help at all, as he ended up inhaling her scent. His breathing quickened slightly, and he focused with grim determination on the ground in front of him, struggling to get a hold of himself.

"Sasuke?" Hinata asked softly, watching him carefully. He was scowling so hard at the ground that she thought the snow would melt. "Are you all right?" She angled her head to get a better look at his face. His eyes flickered towards her, and stayed on her face. He was watching her intently, his eyes dark with an expression that she couldn't decipher, but seemed somehow familiar. She realized suddenly that Sasuke had always looked at her like that; she had thought it was hatred. But as his eyes drifted slowly over her face, and stopped at her lips, she decided that it was not hatred, but something else, something that made her cheeks flush and her heart beat strangely in her chest. He leaned forward slightly, and Hinata gasped as she realized that he was probably going to kiss her. At her gasp, his eyes had darkened even more, and as he leaned closer, she froze in panic. She didn't know what to do, she wasn't ready for this…

"Hey Hinata and Sasuke!"

Her sister's greeting snapped her out of her immobility and she jumped back, almost falling of the bench in the process. She pressed her hands to her flushed cheeks and avoided Sasuke's gaze, trying to catch her breath and get her bearings.

"Ohhhhhhhh, you two are having a tryst! You are so CUTE," Hanabi squealed, "Sorry to interrupt it, but Hinata, you need to come back inside."

Sasuke turned and glared at Hanabi as she approached them, his eyes red with the activated Sharingan. Hanabi grinned at him.

"Now, now Sasuke, you can't kill me in front of my big sister, she might not like you so much if you did," she said cheekily. Sasuke, with some effort, forced his eyes back to their original colour. He could cheerfully have murdered the little brat right there. She was more annoying the Naruto, Sakura, Kiba and Lee combined. He was snapped out of his homicidal thoughts as Hinata rose and walked passed him, avoiding his gaze as she followed her sister into the house. He felt ill at her obvious discomfort, and cursed himself. He was ten kinds of idiot, he thought morosely, she didn't _want_ him, she wanted Naruto. He must've scared the hell out of her, all because he couldn't control himself. He growled in frustration, and hoped fervently that he hadn't destroyed the quiet friendship he had developed with Hinata.

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	15. Chapter 15: The End of One Story

I wanted to get this chapter posted as soon as possible, so it hasn't been edited as carefully as I should like. I apologize for that, and hope you enjoy it regardless.

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Chapter 15: The End of One Story

Sasuke hadn't stayed long after the incident with Hinata. He felt frustrated and disgruntled, and staying in a room full of people who were eyeing him with curiosity or distaste was not remotely appealing. He tried to catch Hinata's eye as he was leaving. When he did, she turned scarlet at the sight of him and quickly looked away. He tried to ignore the sudden flash of pain when she avoided his gaze, and headed out the door.

Outside the compound, the night was cool. Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets and started to head in the direction of the Uchiha compound. He had only walked down the street when he stopped suddenly. Someone was following him.

"I know you're there, Hyuuga, you might as well come out," he called. Neji appeared a few moments later in front of him. They watched each other for a few seconds, Neji's face unreadable, and Sasuke's slightly questioning.

"Well? What do you want?" the avenger asked.

"You showed up," was all Neji said. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Way to state the obvious, genius," he muttered, and moved to push past him. Neji stopped him by stepping in front of him again.

"What?" Sasuke snapped, getting irritated.

"If you want to marry Hinata, you're going to need to get the council to first approve of you as a suitor," Neji declared calmly.

"What's your point?" Sasuke asked, gritting his teeth. He didn't like the idea of having to play suck up to the idiots who had been glaring at him all evening.

"Hanabi and I…prefer you to the other suitors that have been mentioned. We shall help you at the council meeting. It would be a good idea to meet in tomorrow to discuss strategy," Neji explained. Sasuke glared at him.

"I don't need your help," Sasuke muttered, and succeeded in pushing past him, continuing on his way home.

Neji watched as the avenger disappeared from sight and sighed.

"What an ass," said a voice from seemingly nowhere.

"That's just how he is, Hanabi," Neji said. His cousin dropped down beside him.

"Still, seriously, doesn't he realize that the only reason he's even got a chance with Hinata is all because of you?" she asked.

"No. I would prefer if my hand in this remained unknown," Neji said. Hanabi smirked.

"Yeah, I can see how you're reputation as one of the best and coldest ninja in the village would be in jeopardy if everyone found out you're a closet matchmaker," she said. Neji glared at her.

"I am not a matchmaker, I am merely doing what is necessary," he said, turning around to return to the compound. Hanabi walked with him, watching him from the corner of her eye.

"Suuuuuuuuure, Neji," she said, "you know, you should think about starting up your own business. I bet the Aburames could use your skills – it must be difficult finding a girl who doesn't hate bugs…" she trailed off.

"Shut up," Neji muttered, and Hanabi, surprisingly, did, though she didn't stop grinning at the look on her cousin's face.

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The next day, Sasuke woke early to train, as was his custom. However, as he was about to leave, a knock sounded on his door. He opened it to find Neji and Hanabi standing on his steps.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, staring at them. Neji stared back, his face impassive. Hanabi just yawned, her eyes still heavy with sleep.

"We came to prepare you," she said, "for your meeting with the council. Gawd, do you really get up this early when you don't have to?"

"I train," Sasuke said, glaring at her. She just shook her head.

"You need to get laid," she said matter-of-factly, then winced under the combined glares of both Sasuke and Neji. She sighed, but followed her cousin as he pushed his way past Sasuke and entered the apartment. Sasuke just scowled.

"I thought I told you that I don't need your help," he said.

"Yeah you do," Hanabi said, "your whole attitude makes people hate you, and the council isn't going to be any different."

"Does she really have to be here for this?" Sasuke asked. Neji smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

"Hanabi has a very unique way of putting things which is sometimes surprisingly effective," he said by way of explanation. Sasuke muttered something very unflattering which Hanabi choose to ignore. He was about to close the door when with a sudden pop, Kakashi appeared.

"Now what?" Sasuke snapped.

"Just a heads up, the council has apparently switched the general meeting to today. I believe they are starting in about fifteen minutes," the older ninja said before disappearing again. Hanabi swore and Neji looked alarmed.

"Bastards have switched it up so Sasuke would miss it," she grumbled, looking much more awake. Neji just grabbed Sasuke's arm and dragged him outside.

"What the hell is going on?" the avenger asked. Hanabi came out behind them and they all started towards the Hyuuga compound.

"The council was going to hold a general meeting later in the week to assess the potential suitors, and decide whether or not to allow them the honour of Hinata-sama's hand. However, it seems that your appearance last night at the party has made some of them nervous. They have switched the meeting to this morning, I suspect, in order to have you miss it."

"What I want to know," Hanabi said, "is how the hell the Copy Nin knew about this."

"The Hokage has as much interest in the outcome as the Hyuugas. She doesn't want to see Hinata leave," Neji explained absently. Sasuke remained quiet, feeling slightly offended and a little uneasy about the amount of people who seemed to have a vested interest in his marrying the Hyuuga heiress.

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The council was already seated as the three arrived. Hanabi quickly took her place beside her father, while Neji remained with Sasuke. They both stood at the back of the room, behind a dozen or so other candidates. While the first few were being interviewed, Neji gave Sasuke a run down of his strategy.

"Remain respectfully silent, and do not give off any attitude. Whatever they say to you, you must not react to it. They will try to provoke you and to discredit you. Do not respond. If you loose your temper, you will loose Hinata. I will speak for you."

"I don't need you to defend me, Hyuuga," Sasuke hissed.

"Yes, you do. My word carries some weight with the council, and I have given this match a great deal of thought. It is what is best for the clan, Konoha, and most importantly, for Hinata-sama. If nothing else, Uchiha, remember that you do this for Hinata-sama," Neji murmured. Sasuke scowled at the Hyuuga genius. Bringing up the heiress was a low blow, Sasuke thought. An effective low blow, as he was slowly becoming aware of how deep his feelings for the heiress went. It was a little frightening, and he wondered exactly how much he would be willing to give up for Hinata. Already he had left his pride behind – having his love life as the focus of the most prestigious clan in Konoha, as well as the Hokage, Kakashi, and god knows who else took care of that. His generally cold and uncaring exterior was severely cracked, and his reputation of being suave was shot as he seemed unable to get Hinata to look at him with anything remotely resembling the shine in her eyes when she saw Naruto.

Sasuke noticed that they were next, and he quickly tried to wipe the scowl off of his face. He remained blank, following Neji up the where the council were seated. It consisted of a large half circle, and most of the people on it were old. All of them had the same blank eyes that Hinata had, but theirs lacked the warmth, the gentleness of the heiress's. Instead, Sasuke was reminded of ice – hard and cold. Only Hanabi looked at him with something akin to friendliness. She stared at him impassively, but when she was sure no one was looking, she winked and gave him the thumbs up. Sasuke resisted the urge to scowl at her, and instead focussed on Hiashi. The head stared at him briefly before lowering his eyes to the floor. Sasuke was confused for a moment. He didn't believe that the Head of the Hyuuga would ever willingly lower his gaze to anyone, and then it dawned on him. Quickly, Sasuke dropped his gaze to the floor as a sign of respect, and didn't raise his eyes again until someone spoke.

"So, the traitorous Uchiha wishes to attach himself to our clan, does he?" came a cold, thin voice. Sasuke looked up to find that the speaker was an elderly gentleman who was glaring at him with hatred.

"Uchiha Sasuke wishes to present himself as a possible candidate for Hinata-sama's hand in marriage," Neji said calmly. The old man's hostile gaze switched to Neji, and Sasuke wasn't really surprised to see that the hatred in it didn't lessen any.

"What, you think that if you support him, it will make his chances of actually being approved increase, Neji? A lowly branch member does not have the power."

"Yuske, that's enough. Neji is no lowly Branch member; he is the genius of the Hyuuga. If he supports the Uchiha, he must have good reasons," a woman interjected softly. She reminded Sasuke a little of Hinata – her face had the same roundness, her eyes a little less cold than the rest.

"Hiroko is right. Neji must have his reasons. I don't believe he would allow anyone unworthy to present themselves as Hinata-sama's betrothed. Exactly why do you think the Uchiha is a good candidate, Neji? His past is not exactly inspiring me to think of him favourably," another member spoke. There was a general murmur of agreement, and Neji waited until it died down.

Sasuke was surprised when the genius began his defence, though he took care not to show it. It was obvious that Neji had indeed given it a lot of thought, listing reasons such as the novelty of the combined bloodlines, the added prestige the Hyuuga family would get in helping revive the Uchiha by having one of their own as the new matriarch, the benefits of having Hinata remain in the village. Yuske looked livid at this reason, and quickly raised the aspect of Sasuke's betrayal. Neji once again countered it effectively, citing the Hokage's support, and the fact that Sasuke had destroyed Orochimaru.

"His reasons for leaving were honourable – he wished to gain enough strength to defend his families' honour. There are those here, I know, who can understand that, and though they may not have gone to the extremes of the Uchiha avenger, they can certainly sympathize with his situation," Neji said calmly.

The council was silent at the end of this speech, and Sasuke looked at each of them. However, most of the faces remained blank, and he returned his gaze to the ground, hiding his frustration at being unable to read them.

"I think the Uchiha should be accepted as a potential mate for Hinata-sama," Hiashi said suddenly. Sasuke looked at the head, but Hiashi's gaze remained fixed on the far wall. However, his declaration seemed to unfreeze the rest of the council. There were many nods of agreement, though some scowled, glaring at him and Neji.

"All in favour?" Hiroko asked. A majority of the hands went up.

"Very well. Uchiha, you have the council's approval. Please wait in the next room for you audience with Hiashi-sama," she said. Sasuke bowed to the council before following Neji into the next room, feeling himself relax.

"Don't get too comfortable," Neji said suddenly. Sasuke glance at him.

"Why?" he asked, "I thought the hardest part was getting the council to agree. They've agreed. I'm to marry Hinata."

"No, they approved of you. You need to have a private audience with Hiashi-sama. If he finds you worthy, then you will have a private audience with Hinata-sama. Even if the council and Hiashi approve, she can still refuse you," Neji explained. Sasuke felt slightly sick at that. He hadn't seen Hinata since last night, and his mind immediately brought her face forward, horrified and frightened as she ran away from him.

Neji glance at him from the corner of his eyes. The Uchiha looked…glum.

"It will work out, Uchiha. You've made it this far, it is only a matter of how much farther you are willing to go to be with the woman you love."

"I don't love her," Sasuke said immediately, glaring at him. Neji just stared at him, and Sasuke had to look away from the knowing white eyes.

"Yes you do, Uchiha, and soon you will have to come to terms with that," the Hyuuga genius said quietly. Sasuke remained silent, refusing to acknowledge the statement.

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It was late afternoon by the time Sasuke entered Hiashi's office for his meeting. The Head of the Hyuuga was kneeling calmly on the tatami mat as Sasuke entered the room. Hiashi motioned for him to sit, and Sasuke kneeled across from him. They regarded each other silently for a few moments.

"So you wish to marry my daughter?" Hiashi asked. Sasuke bit back a sharp retort and merely nodded.

"Hmm," was all Hiashi said. They were silent for a few more moments. If he was any other man, Sasuke was sure that he would be very intimidated by this point. Hiashi just kept staring at him with cold, calculating eyes. Undoubtedly the other suitors who had preceded him would have found it unnerving. But Sasuke was a trained ninja of Konoha, and merely stared back.

"I have only one question for you, Uchiha. Do you love my daughter?"

Sasuke couldn't stop the look of surprise from flashing across his face, and Hiashi smirked.

"Despite appearances, I care for my children very much, and wish to see them happy. Do you think you could make Hinata happy, Sasuke?"

"I would try," Sasuke replied.

"Really? Because in order to be happy, Hinata needs to be loved, and you have yet to answer my question regarding that. Do you love my daughter?"

Sasuke stared at him, felt his heart beating loudly in his chest.

"Yes," he said softly, finally admitting the truth to himself while simultaneously acknowledging it out loud.

"Can you prove it?" Hiashi asked. Sasuke frowned.

"How?" he asked.

"Would you protect her always?"

"Yes."

"Would you die for her?"

Sasuke paused, but not for long.

"Yes," he said firmly.

"None of that matters. Anyone can say that they will protect someone; that they would die for someone. I want concrete evidence of your affection for my daughter," and he pulled out a scroll from his sleeve. Sasuke stared at Hiashi, feeling a little off balance.

"This is a contract that is to be signed in blood. In it, you agree to give up the search for your brother in exchange for my daughter's hand in marriage."

Sasuke felt the world tip slightly before righting itself as he stared in shock at the Head of the Hyuuga. _No_, was his first thought, _I can't do that, I can't stop looking for Itachi, I have to avenge my family…_. The moments stretched out while Hiashi stared at Sasuke who stared at the scroll. In all honesty, Hiashi didn't believe that the Uchiha had any lasting affection for Hinata, and knew that the ninja would answer no. It was unlikely that Sasuke would give up his goal, the one thing he had worked towards his whole life, for a girl that he thought he might be in love with.

Sasuke reached his decision. He drew himself up straight, and set his face into an impassive mask. He couldn't do it, he couldn't let go of his brother. He opened his mouth to tell Hiashi no when the door suddenly slid open.

Hinata entered, and couldn't contain the small squeak of surprise at finding Hiashi with Sasuke. Neji had asked her to bring her father some tea, but he hadn't said anything about him still being in meetings with the suitors.

"I-I'm s-sorry, father, I-I though you were f-f-finished. I-I'll com back l-l-later," she said softly, feeling her cheeks heat up as both men turned to face her.

"It's all right, Hinata. Serve the tea, and then you can go," Hiashi said quietly. Hinata did as she was asked, her cheeks still flushed. She had to concentrate very hard on not spilling the tea things, as she was distracted by Sasuke's presence. She felt bad for how she had treated him the previous evening. If (and it seemed to her to be a pretty big if) Sasuke harboured some kind of feeling for her, than her reaction must have hurt him very much. Hinata hated hurting people; it was one of her worst faults as a ninja. And Sasuke had been her friend. She never thought that she would call the Uchiha avenger a friend, but he really was. Before the near-kiss (was it a near-kiss? Maybe she was just imagining it) of last night, she had felt more comfortable around Sasuke than she had around anyone else, even her team mates. She glanced at him as she poured her father's tea, and he held her gaze. She tried to tell him silently that she was sorry, that he was her friend, and that if she had to marry someone, she would prefer it to be him. Of course she wasn't telepathic, and could only finish serving silently. She did allow her hand to brush his briefly, and this, along with her gaze, must have conveyed some of what she wanted to say, but couldn't. Sasuke's face softened ever so slightly in way that she recognized, and she smiled before leaving.

Hiashi waited until Hinata shut the door before returning to the matter at hand. The scroll was laid out between them, and he reached for it only to be stopped by the Uchiha.

"Wait," Sasuke said quietly. Hiashi stared at him in surprise. Sasuke's face was averted towards the floor, his bangs covering his eyes. His fists were clenched in his lap so tightly that the knuckles were turning white.

"Why have you placed this ultimatum before me?" he asked.

"To see how much you would be willing to sacrifice for my daughter. Words are cheap, Uchiha. All the other suitors were asked to make a similar sacrifice. None of them could do it. Also, I do not want to engage you to my daughter, only to have you run off to try and kill your brother – you may not survive such an encounter. I do not wish Hinata to be overlooked by you in favour of destroying your brother – she does not deserve to be ignored by her husband in favour of a quest fuelled by hatred and anger. All of these are reasons why I choose to present you with this ultimatum. What happens now is up to you. I understand if you feel you can't go through with it," Hiashi finished.

Sasuke was silent for a few more moments before taking out a kunai. He ran it quickly over his finger and allowed his blood to fall on the open scroll. He looked up to meet Hiashi's astonished gaze.

"When do I get to see Hinata?" he asked, his voice cold. His hands were once more fisted in his lap, and his face was tense. Undoubtedly this decision was costing the Uchiha a great deal. Hiashi wondered briefly if he should take the ultimatum back, but quickly dismissed the idea. He was a firm believer that once you made a choice, you stick it out.

"I must say I am surprised. Wait here and I will send Hinata into you," Hiashi told him, rising from the mat. The Hyuuga head walked towards the door, but paused before leaving.

"Congratulations, Sasuke, I believe you have just successfully become Hinata's betrothed," he said before leaving.

Sasuke ignored him. He was still reeling from what he had just done. He felt lost. His whole life had been spent in pursuit of revenge, and he had now just signed it all away for a white-eyed girl who didn't even love him.

_Have I just made the biggest mistake of my life? Have I dishonoured my family's memory by refusing to avenge them?_

He was interrupted from his musings by Hinata herself as she walked through the door. She slid it shut behind her but remained standing by it. Sasuke rose and watched her. He did love her. The knowledge of this settled itself deep inside him as he watched her standing there, worrying her lip, her eyes concerned.

"S-Sasuke," she said, and stopped. She moved away from the door and walked towards him, stopping a few feet away.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke," she said quietly, "I d-don't know why you agreed to m-marry m-me, but I am g-grateful."

Sasuke just stared at her as she struggled to find words. She looked up at him, her eyes frowning as she stared at him anxiously.

"I'm j-just worried that you m-m-might r-r-r-regret this, and I d-don't want that. I understand if you d-don't want to go through with it," she said. Sasuke stared at her.

"Why would I regret it?" he asked. Did she know about the choice Hiashi had placed before him? Was she trying to tell him that she wasn't going to accept him, and giving him a way out?

"I-It's just, you d-don't love me, and one day, you m-might find someone whom you c-could love, b-but you'd be chained to me. I don't want to be the cause of your unhappiness, Sasuke," she finished softly, staring down at the ground.

Sasuke stared at her. She was just as dense as Naruto, he decided. Of course, Naruto's idiocy was annoying, whereas Hinata's obtuseness was just cute.

"Before giving me his blessing your father had me sign a contract. If I wished to marry you, I had to stop looking for my brother," he said softly. Hinata's eyes shot up as she looked at him in surprise.

"I signed it, Hinata-sama," he said, even softer, taking a step towards her. Hinata stared at him, her eyes searching his face. A faint blush spread across her cheeks, but she didn't look away from him. Instead, she squared her shoulders and stepped closer to him.

"I accept you as my betrothed, Uchiha Sasuke," she said formally, before placing her hands on his shoulders, reaching up, and kissing him softly on the corner of his mouth. It was all she could reach. She tried to step back, her face flaming, but was prevented by Sasuke's hands coming to rest on her waist. She stared up at him, surprised and a little nervous.

Sasuke dipped his head. There were no interruptions this time, and Hinata, though nervous, didn't pull away. He kissed her softly once, and then finding it not enough, captured her mouth again. It was soft and sweet, and though he desperately wanted to taste as much of her as he could, he fought off the desire, knowing from her hesitant response that she wasn't ready.

_She's accepted me, it doesn't mean she loves me,_ he told himself, and pulled back gently. He didn't think he'd ever seen the heiress's face so red, and couldn't help but smirk slightly at her. She just hid her face in his chest, and his smirk softened into something that almost resembled a smile.

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Sorry about the delay and any OoCness that has occurred. Personally, I don't think Sasuke would give up looking for Itachi for anybody, but I liked the idea, so I stuck it in.

Thanks for reading!


	16. Chapter 16: Epilogue

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Epilogue

Hinata woke up the next day, and immediately hid her face in her pillow as she recalled all that had happened on the previous afternoon. She was engaged. To Sasuke. It was…weird. She wasn't sure if she was happy about it or not. She knew that he must care for her a great deal, and she was grateful that she was going to marry someone who actually wanted to marry her. But…how much did she care about him? All her life, she had been dreaming about Naruto, and now she was marrying his best friend.

She got up and began to dress, her thoughts rolling over in her head. The whole situation was awkward for her, and confusing. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to act, or what Sasuke might expect from her. She stared absently out her bedroom window as thoughts of all that had happened flew through her head. A few weeks ago she had thought Sasuke hated her…now they were going to be married. She felt a little bewildered as to how all of this had happened in such a short amount of time. How had he managed to get an invitation to the formal party? He was the only ninja in Konoha to receive one…and how did he get past the council? For that matter, how had he known that the meeting had been switched? Hinata's eyes narrowed as the strange coincidences of that past week started to add up in her head. Like how Sasuke was with Hanabi when she had needed comforting, after Neji hadn't shown up…and how she had inadvertently walked in on the meeting between the avenger and her father…Neji had sent her with tea. And when Sasuke had met her in the garden…Neji had been the only one who knew where she was.

Hinata blinked at the sudden conclusion her thoughts had led her to. There was no way Neji had set her up with Sasuke. The idea of her cousin playing matchmaker was just ridiculous; Neji wasn't at all interested in those sorts of things. She shook her head to clear it and walked out of her room. It was a silly idea, Neji as a matchmaker, and she pushed it out of her head.

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"Tsunade-sama," Neji greeted, bowing respectfully. He had been officially summoned to the Hokage's office. He wasn't sure why, but he assumed it had something to do with a mission.

"Neji, glad you're here. I've summoned you to give you and important, top-secret mission. Your particular skills are needed for it, and you need to complete the mission with the utmost delicacy and secrecy," Tsunade said seriously. Neji nodded and took the scroll she handed to him. He read it once, and then glanced at her, annoyed.

"This isn't funny," he said.

"I'm not laughing," she replied, her mouth twitching suspiciously. Neji glared at her.

"I refuse," he stated.

"You can't. It's a direct order from your Hokage, and if you don't do it, I'll let Kakashi know exactly how involved you were in pairing up pretty much all of the Rookie Nine. And you _know_ how good Kakashi will be a keeping such a thing a secret…" she trailed off and smiled as Neji's grip tightened on the scroll. Without saying anything, he turned on his heel and left. Tsunade smirked, the words of the mission appearing before her in her head.

_This mission involves the Aburames, a very important clan in Konoha. They are a very private set of people, and any interference in their lives will not be taking lightly. Hence, this mission must be completed with the utmost discretion._

_The Aburames unique ninja skills make them very important ninja of Konoha. Unfortunately, these same skills make finding a girl difficult. Your mission is to find a woman to make a suitable wife for the Aburame Heir, Shino._

_Mission: Matchmaker must be completed within five years.. Good luck, Neji!_

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FINI

NOTE: Before you all flame me for ending like this, there will be a sequel to _Neji Hyuuga: Matchmaker_ dealing with Sasuke and Hinata's new found relationship. I just didn't want to start it here, 'cause technically, this story (which was about Neji hooking up the Rookie Nine) is finished.

Look for the first chapter of the sequel soon. Dunno what I'm going to call it, but it will deal with the two year interval leading up to Hinata and Sasuke's wedding.

Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing. I'm so glad that you all liked it, and hope you'll enjoy the next one.

Cheers!


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